more and more i'm amazed at the childish behavior of some of the ppl in subsidized housing -- heck, the world. there, i just said it.
so u know we've been fighting with "management" over the fact that they want to come in and rip out fiberglass insulation and spray in smelly toxic foam insulation in the kitchen walls. and we've been trying to get them to understand that this is a health hazard for a lot of folks -- not just with the fiberglass, but with the foam insulation as well. but some of the residents rn't able to comprehend what they read, so, for some, this seems stupid and ridiculous.
at any rate, the live-in boyfriend, who isn't on the lease (so they don't have to pay rent on his income i imagine) of the person in apt. #1 is doing the job (along with another guy -- neither of which is entirely qualified but whatever). but the tenant in apt. #1 is ticked off at us -- obviously coz if the job gets shut down then her boyfriend loses his job -- duh -- i get that. and so she's been going around and telling ppl how ridiculous and stupid we're being and that if it doesn't bother her it won't bother us and blah blah blah. of course, she and her live-in boyfriend both smoke so i'm sure their sense of smell is shot to u know where.
the other day the management came and asked those of us with chemical sensitivities and allergies and health issues to visit one of the apt. that had been foamed. we chose to visit an apt. adjacent to the foamed ones, but that had not been done and the smell gave three of us migraines, a third person was made dizzy and two ppl were sick to their stomachs from it. the woman living there was having issues with her asthma and couldn't breathe out of her nose. so we said we wanted to be moved out while the work is being done.
by this time, the newspapers had gotten wind of it and were on it and, of course, it wasn't at all favorable to us "stupid" people in subsidized housing, but it wasn't all that favorable to the management either. and evidently the fact that this was even happening and that the city inspectors were being called in on a regular basis and the city councilmen/women were being contacted infuriated the lady in #1 -- who still thinks we're being stupid and ridiculous even though the city found the work to be shoddy and not done correctly.
but the lady in #1 now won't let us into her stupid apartment to see what the smell is like several days after the fact to see when we might be able to return. i get that she's upset, and i get why she is upset. and i can't change her opinion of me and the others who were making waves about this. i can only forgive her for not even trying to see our side and move forward, because it doesn't hurt her one bit.
however, some of the ppl in this development have a nasty habit of doing things to ppl's cars/belongings, etc. when they r mad at them and its a ridiculous childish way to behave. of course, i expect no less because i see how they scream and yell at each other when they are mad. so yeah .... for now we'll take the high road. we didn't let them antagonize us at the meeting last night with their snippy little remarks. i am sure they were expecting fireworks. they didn't happen because everybody from our side -- took the high road -- and i'm so proud of them for doing so!!
Friday, April 30, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
goodbye trees ....
well, its official. they started tearing down all the ash trees in the housing development i live in. idk. and the bushes r coming out today. its looking a lot like a war zone here with the siding off all the buildings and insulation exposed and trucks and diggers all over the place. i just want to cry.
i had asked if we could ball the bushes that were still in great shape (the one outside my door is very much alive and thriving and a home for the birds), but i was told no. i don't understand any of it. but we've tried fighting it and we just get smacked back down to the hole where they think we belong.
as for the nonsense in the kitchens -- that is going full steam ahead as well. the state asbestos guy was here yesterday and even though he said that he hadn't seen any actual paperwork saying that the asbestos tests came back negative he didn't have any reason not to believe that the tests hadn't been done. and he couldn't help us with regard to the foam insulation causing health issues or the possibility of lead because it wasn't his "department". when pressed for who we should contact he said, "i can't really say." he did all of this in front of the reporter from the local paper.
of course in the midst of all this i am having my own little mini-meltdown and still trying to keep my eyes on papa god. only he can save us. tomorrow some friends r coming over to bless my apt. i have asked if they would consider blessing the whole building because my neighbors have asked. this surprised me because some of them rn't christians or rn't practicing christians -- but u never know. it can't hurt.
i don't want to move -- i really can't afford to move anywhere at this point since i don't have a job and no savings to speak of. but i was in tears this morning at the thought of losing the bushes and trees. i wonder -- is papa god crying too over the destruction we cause to his earth?
i had asked if we could ball the bushes that were still in great shape (the one outside my door is very much alive and thriving and a home for the birds), but i was told no. i don't understand any of it. but we've tried fighting it and we just get smacked back down to the hole where they think we belong.
as for the nonsense in the kitchens -- that is going full steam ahead as well. the state asbestos guy was here yesterday and even though he said that he hadn't seen any actual paperwork saying that the asbestos tests came back negative he didn't have any reason not to believe that the tests hadn't been done. and he couldn't help us with regard to the foam insulation causing health issues or the possibility of lead because it wasn't his "department". when pressed for who we should contact he said, "i can't really say." he did all of this in front of the reporter from the local paper.
of course in the midst of all this i am having my own little mini-meltdown and still trying to keep my eyes on papa god. only he can save us. tomorrow some friends r coming over to bless my apt. i have asked if they would consider blessing the whole building because my neighbors have asked. this surprised me because some of them rn't christians or rn't practicing christians -- but u never know. it can't hurt.
i don't want to move -- i really can't afford to move anywhere at this point since i don't have a job and no savings to speak of. but i was in tears this morning at the thought of losing the bushes and trees. i wonder -- is papa god crying too over the destruction we cause to his earth?
Monday, April 26, 2010
job hunting for who?
just so u know, this is not going to be one of those self-help kind of blogs. i have no advice to give on the subject of job hunting, and after reading more than a few of them myself, i sincerely feel it has been "done to death".
so, as most of u know, i've been on a job hunt for some time now. sometimes i didn't even get to the interview stage, sometimes i never even got a letter saying thanks for ur interest, sometimes i did get to the interview stage, and times when i thought i had the job, i would find out it was given to someone else. never knowing y, i keep searching for ways to "improve" myself. i read all the online stuff that says what u should and shouldn't do when u prepare ur resume, go to the interview, etc. today it was "9 Ways to Ensure You Don't Get the Job". how much good is this doing me?? idk
one of the things they said not to do is not to smile too much -- don't be a gloomy gus either, but don't smile too much coz it makes u look like a nut case and overly eager for the job. what???? so what is too much and is my too much more or less than ur too much? and if u don't want to see my gloomy than should i wear a fake smile that is probably too much of a smile and make me see overly eager? give me a break .... i smile because i'm happy ... its got nothing to do with how badly i want the job. this kind of stuff just isn't helpful because from one interviewer to the next u will get differing opinions on what is too much or not enough. honestly, i am NOT a mind reader to know who would think its too much and who would think its not enough.
all these "self-help" aids on line can drive a person batty. do this and don't do this, say this and don't say that, wear this and don't wear that, put this in ur resume and don't put that. change things from what they really r to something they might be but probably rn't to ensure u get the interview/job. and whatever u do -- don't be urself. huh???
it doesn't help matters any that for years and years and years i swallowed who i really was to "please mankind" only to be miserable, and now that i've discovered and really like who i am, i'm being forced to push it into man's mold just so i can get a job. can't anyone hire me just on the basis of who i am with the plethora of experience i have, and not their expectations of who i should be??? just let me be me!! please!!
so, as most of u know, i've been on a job hunt for some time now. sometimes i didn't even get to the interview stage, sometimes i never even got a letter saying thanks for ur interest, sometimes i did get to the interview stage, and times when i thought i had the job, i would find out it was given to someone else. never knowing y, i keep searching for ways to "improve" myself. i read all the online stuff that says what u should and shouldn't do when u prepare ur resume, go to the interview, etc. today it was "9 Ways to Ensure You Don't Get the Job". how much good is this doing me?? idk
one of the things they said not to do is not to smile too much -- don't be a gloomy gus either, but don't smile too much coz it makes u look like a nut case and overly eager for the job. what???? so what is too much and is my too much more or less than ur too much? and if u don't want to see my gloomy than should i wear a fake smile that is probably too much of a smile and make me see overly eager? give me a break .... i smile because i'm happy ... its got nothing to do with how badly i want the job. this kind of stuff just isn't helpful because from one interviewer to the next u will get differing opinions on what is too much or not enough. honestly, i am NOT a mind reader to know who would think its too much and who would think its not enough.
all these "self-help" aids on line can drive a person batty. do this and don't do this, say this and don't say that, wear this and don't wear that, put this in ur resume and don't put that. change things from what they really r to something they might be but probably rn't to ensure u get the interview/job. and whatever u do -- don't be urself. huh???
it doesn't help matters any that for years and years and years i swallowed who i really was to "please mankind" only to be miserable, and now that i've discovered and really like who i am, i'm being forced to push it into man's mold just so i can get a job. can't anyone hire me just on the basis of who i am with the plethora of experience i have, and not their expectations of who i should be??? just let me be me!! please!!
Friday, April 23, 2010
skimming the surface....
my neighbor just showed up at my door with a 169-page report in her hand entitled: EPA Guidelines for Asbestos NESHAP Demolition and Renovation Inspection Procedures. she ran it off on her computer. she said she wants me to "read" it before the EPA inspector comes today or at the very least before they start proposed work on our subsidized housing units on monday. she's got to be kidding. she said she gave it to me because i'm a "fast" reader. uh huh ....
here's the scoop. they r attempting to make our apartments more energy efficient. last spring/summer/fall they had two workmen (i use this term loosely) remove insulation from the outsides of the buildings. we had fiberglass insulation flying everywhere. they didn't roll up or bag the stuff, they just threw it in open dumpsters. ppl were getting sick in the buildings (me included -- at one point i thought i had tuberculosis for the gunk i was continually coughing up). several children had pneumonia (in the middle of the summer) and had to be hospitalized. still the head of the housing authority thinks there is "no correlation to any of this). we're still finding fiberglass insulation in the bushes that they are about to remove, and they have yet to cover up the insulation they put on the outside walls -- so our apartments were quite chilly this past winter. we're talking 5 buildings with a total of 30 apartments ranging from tiny 2br to 4br units.
so about a month ago we got a notice from the office saying that they were going to take out the bushes and trees and dig four foot trenches around the buildings, put foam insulation around the foundations. i have an issue with this but it is secondary to the issues i have with the other proposed renovation where they come into my kitchen, cut a hole in the wall and remove the fiberglass insulation only to spray in foam insulation which, according to the notice, will cause problems with breathing for a "little while". after seeing the half-u-know-what job that was done on the outside by these "workmen" -- i have no confidence that the job will done correctly or safely. beyond this, both my daughter and i have allergies and asthma that will most certainly be irritated by the whole process. there r pregnant women and families with small children here and basically we can't seem to get anyone to agree on how this procedure should be done safely so as not to endanger the health of the residents. and some of the ppl here just don't seem to care -- because either they are unaware of the dangers of flying fiberglass fibers or the foam -- or they have just resigned themselves to the fact that they don't own the place and have no say in anything that goes on here.
so some of us have been attempting to educate ppl, get in touch with city, state, and federal agencies that should be able to help us and we're getting nowhere fast. its like nobody wants to take any sort of responsibility here. they could put the insulation on the outside but the head doesn't want to cover up the brick facade because it gives "character" to the building --- never mind that he's having them rip out all the bushes and trees to dig the trenches and don't they give "character" as well. or the fact that we won't be able to use our kitchens for four days (how does he propose that poor ppl feed themselves during that time frame). or that we won't have use of one of the two fire exits and at some point the trench digging will cross with the insulation removal and we might not have use of a front and back door (stuck either in or out).
i'm all for energy saving measures -- don't get me wrong. i'm a big tree hugger. but i believe there r other ways that could save energy here -- like taking out 30 something year old huge hot water tanks and installing tankless ones or giving us new stoves that have ovens that don't take 45 minutes to get up to temperature -- or insulating on the outside of the walls. the head's big contention is that the cost of electricity for each apartment per year is $900 -- and our heat is electric -- so i'm thinking that's really not such a bad cost at all for all the electric we have here -- but whatever. i have more issues with the dumping of fiberglass insulation as is (without sealing it up) into the landfills, but even more than that, knowing that this stuff NEVER breaks down in soil or water makes me think its BAD to do this from that standpoint. let alone all the health issues that will come from removing old stuff and putting in foam that is filled with who knows what.
so my neighbor brings me this report and says read this and i'm like -- skim would be more like it. skim and highlight. and basically what i've just told u here is just skimming the surface of what has happened, is happening, and is about to happen in the lives of the ppl who live in subsidized housing. and some ppl think of this as an "entitlement" ....
here's the scoop. they r attempting to make our apartments more energy efficient. last spring/summer/fall they had two workmen (i use this term loosely) remove insulation from the outsides of the buildings. we had fiberglass insulation flying everywhere. they didn't roll up or bag the stuff, they just threw it in open dumpsters. ppl were getting sick in the buildings (me included -- at one point i thought i had tuberculosis for the gunk i was continually coughing up). several children had pneumonia (in the middle of the summer) and had to be hospitalized. still the head of the housing authority thinks there is "no correlation to any of this). we're still finding fiberglass insulation in the bushes that they are about to remove, and they have yet to cover up the insulation they put on the outside walls -- so our apartments were quite chilly this past winter. we're talking 5 buildings with a total of 30 apartments ranging from tiny 2br to 4br units.
so about a month ago we got a notice from the office saying that they were going to take out the bushes and trees and dig four foot trenches around the buildings, put foam insulation around the foundations. i have an issue with this but it is secondary to the issues i have with the other proposed renovation where they come into my kitchen, cut a hole in the wall and remove the fiberglass insulation only to spray in foam insulation which, according to the notice, will cause problems with breathing for a "little while". after seeing the half-u-know-what job that was done on the outside by these "workmen" -- i have no confidence that the job will done correctly or safely. beyond this, both my daughter and i have allergies and asthma that will most certainly be irritated by the whole process. there r pregnant women and families with small children here and basically we can't seem to get anyone to agree on how this procedure should be done safely so as not to endanger the health of the residents. and some of the ppl here just don't seem to care -- because either they are unaware of the dangers of flying fiberglass fibers or the foam -- or they have just resigned themselves to the fact that they don't own the place and have no say in anything that goes on here.
so some of us have been attempting to educate ppl, get in touch with city, state, and federal agencies that should be able to help us and we're getting nowhere fast. its like nobody wants to take any sort of responsibility here. they could put the insulation on the outside but the head doesn't want to cover up the brick facade because it gives "character" to the building --- never mind that he's having them rip out all the bushes and trees to dig the trenches and don't they give "character" as well. or the fact that we won't be able to use our kitchens for four days (how does he propose that poor ppl feed themselves during that time frame). or that we won't have use of one of the two fire exits and at some point the trench digging will cross with the insulation removal and we might not have use of a front and back door (stuck either in or out).
i'm all for energy saving measures -- don't get me wrong. i'm a big tree hugger. but i believe there r other ways that could save energy here -- like taking out 30 something year old huge hot water tanks and installing tankless ones or giving us new stoves that have ovens that don't take 45 minutes to get up to temperature -- or insulating on the outside of the walls. the head's big contention is that the cost of electricity for each apartment per year is $900 -- and our heat is electric -- so i'm thinking that's really not such a bad cost at all for all the electric we have here -- but whatever. i have more issues with the dumping of fiberglass insulation as is (without sealing it up) into the landfills, but even more than that, knowing that this stuff NEVER breaks down in soil or water makes me think its BAD to do this from that standpoint. let alone all the health issues that will come from removing old stuff and putting in foam that is filled with who knows what.
so my neighbor brings me this report and says read this and i'm like -- skim would be more like it. skim and highlight. and basically what i've just told u here is just skimming the surface of what has happened, is happening, and is about to happen in the lives of the ppl who live in subsidized housing. and some ppl think of this as an "entitlement" ....
Thursday, April 22, 2010
scholarships and such ...
today is thursday. there are approximately (counting today) 4 days left to my daughter's spring break from school. i've been sick for 7 days. u can imagine how boring this would be for her. but she's been working on scholarship applications for college. one scholarship i gave her is like 19 pages (or something like that) long. but if she got it, it would be for all four years and might well get her a decent education without having to go into debt up the wahzoo.
this one is so labor intensive though and they wanna know if she worked (she didn't) and if she didn't y not (because her mom felt it would be better for her to concentrate her efforts on her homework and grades while she was in school so that maybe she would qualify for scholarships). but now she's thinking she should get a job this summer and i don't have an issue with this except that wherever she gets a job, i'll have to drive her to and from because she doesn't have her license (and doesn't intend to get it) or a car (gees, we can barely afford the 2001 we have) and can't drive mine (coz its standard transmission and she only does automatic), and when she gets the job, because she's 18 now, she'll have to give 30% (more really and that's another bone of contention here) to the housing authority towards the rent. which in my view sucks coz she's still a kid in school and shouldn't have to give it. but whatever.
at any rate she had to write down any "special financial circumstances". so she wrote about how we live in subsidized housing coz her mom's a loser and got divorced and can't find a job. well, no she didn't EXACTLY say that -- but in a nutshell that's what it amounts to. she's a great kid and i love her bunches and i want her to go to school and get to do all the things she wants to do because i never got to do what i wanted (except the get married and have kids part and even that got messed up -- but whatever). and i want her to get to go to school and not come out owing her life to some stupid bank somewhere -- because nobody should have to start out their life like that -- bad enough u end up there.
yesterday we went to wally world for toilet paper and milk -- coz we're poor and its the cheapest place in town to get these things. and then to BJs and while we were, there she was talking about saving and how she remembered this friend of here's in elementary school saying she already had $5,000 for college. i told her that was coz somebody had given it to her and who does my kid know that would just up and give them $5,000 for college. then she starts in on how she should have saved all her money over the years and never bought anyone any presents (like for xmas and birthdays and mother/father days) and how she should never have bought herself anything she ever wanted and i'm like -- give me a break! all this crap is making my kid want to be a miser and i've lived with one of them and they rn't fun at all.
so i got to thinking that maybe i'm too far to the other direction and maybe its my fault that she only has $500 (from savings bonds my dad gave her over the years) and nothing more to show for it. and maybe i should have let her work even though her grades would have suffered i'm sure, because even though she didn't work her grades still were not high enough to qualify her for some grand financial aid package at either of the two schools she applied and was accepted to. her art is beautiful and she's an amazingly well-round and well-grounded young woman. she's got a great head on her shoulders and she's a wonderful role model to her peers and others. but did i do wrong by her because i give and give and give and give till it hurts me. i mean, my philosophy has always been that i can't take it with me when i die so y not use it now (of course, now i'm paying off debts so u know it can go too far sometimes).
idk. maybe i didn't do right by her and maybe i should have given her more of a "miserly" speech and not been so giving of my time, money, self over the years so that she wouldn't have seen that modeled and would have saved saved saved. i could "what-if" this to death i suppose. but right now she needs to get lots of scholarships (and this big one she's working on would be a nice one), so i'm just praying that the ppl who go over these scholarships actually see that its her mom who is the loser and not her and give her the shot she needs to go to school -- even if it isn't the college i thought she should go to ....
this one is so labor intensive though and they wanna know if she worked (she didn't) and if she didn't y not (because her mom felt it would be better for her to concentrate her efforts on her homework and grades while she was in school so that maybe she would qualify for scholarships). but now she's thinking she should get a job this summer and i don't have an issue with this except that wherever she gets a job, i'll have to drive her to and from because she doesn't have her license (and doesn't intend to get it) or a car (gees, we can barely afford the 2001 we have) and can't drive mine (coz its standard transmission and she only does automatic), and when she gets the job, because she's 18 now, she'll have to give 30% (more really and that's another bone of contention here) to the housing authority towards the rent. which in my view sucks coz she's still a kid in school and shouldn't have to give it. but whatever.
at any rate she had to write down any "special financial circumstances". so she wrote about how we live in subsidized housing coz her mom's a loser and got divorced and can't find a job. well, no she didn't EXACTLY say that -- but in a nutshell that's what it amounts to. she's a great kid and i love her bunches and i want her to go to school and get to do all the things she wants to do because i never got to do what i wanted (except the get married and have kids part and even that got messed up -- but whatever). and i want her to get to go to school and not come out owing her life to some stupid bank somewhere -- because nobody should have to start out their life like that -- bad enough u end up there.
yesterday we went to wally world for toilet paper and milk -- coz we're poor and its the cheapest place in town to get these things. and then to BJs and while we were, there she was talking about saving and how she remembered this friend of here's in elementary school saying she already had $5,000 for college. i told her that was coz somebody had given it to her and who does my kid know that would just up and give them $5,000 for college. then she starts in on how she should have saved all her money over the years and never bought anyone any presents (like for xmas and birthdays and mother/father days) and how she should never have bought herself anything she ever wanted and i'm like -- give me a break! all this crap is making my kid want to be a miser and i've lived with one of them and they rn't fun at all.
so i got to thinking that maybe i'm too far to the other direction and maybe its my fault that she only has $500 (from savings bonds my dad gave her over the years) and nothing more to show for it. and maybe i should have let her work even though her grades would have suffered i'm sure, because even though she didn't work her grades still were not high enough to qualify her for some grand financial aid package at either of the two schools she applied and was accepted to. her art is beautiful and she's an amazingly well-round and well-grounded young woman. she's got a great head on her shoulders and she's a wonderful role model to her peers and others. but did i do wrong by her because i give and give and give and give till it hurts me. i mean, my philosophy has always been that i can't take it with me when i die so y not use it now (of course, now i'm paying off debts so u know it can go too far sometimes).
idk. maybe i didn't do right by her and maybe i should have given her more of a "miserly" speech and not been so giving of my time, money, self over the years so that she wouldn't have seen that modeled and would have saved saved saved. i could "what-if" this to death i suppose. but right now she needs to get lots of scholarships (and this big one she's working on would be a nice one), so i'm just praying that the ppl who go over these scholarships actually see that its her mom who is the loser and not her and give her the shot she needs to go to school -- even if it isn't the college i thought she should go to ....
Monday, April 19, 2010
back up!
i've been having an issue with my mouse. first of all u have to know that i don't buy top of the line when it comes to this stuff because sooner or later its gonna blow and i'll be out a wad and will be faced with buying another one. now having said that, i have bluetooth on my laptop for a mouse, so i bought a bluetooth mouse. and its white like my laptop, so it matches (like that is really important in the whole grand scheme of things). but its not from apple -- its from idk who - but it cost me like $20 compared to what apple charges (and we won't even go there).
now as mice go, i am pretty hard on them -- or at least the ppl in this house r hard on them. the last bluetooth one i had went belly up because my daughter spilled juice all over it (and tried to hide the fact, but i'm smarter than she thinks i am and knew it and just waited to see if she would ever own up to it -- which she eventually did and was totally surprised that i knew it was her fault). but even the ordinary every day kind of mice i tend to squash like a -- well -- mouse. so this is like the third one for this particular laptop -- which i've had for two years come june. so u kinda get the picture -- right?
so this mouse doesn't want to click right any more -- and i don't mean right-click -- i mean it just refuses to click sometimes even though its right on what its supposed to click on. and i just have to keep punching the clicker till it makes up its mind to do it. which is pretty annoying, if i do say so myself coz it just slows down the whole "click here" process. and at first i thought it was because the batteries were dying but then i went through a whole string of new batteries and its still doing it, so i'm thinking its probably gonna go belly up soon and i'll have to pony up some cash for one. but it won't be high on the priority list as i need to have the snow tires removed on my car and get the oil changed, etc.
but this morning i was working away uploading stuff to etsy and getting really frustrated with the whole "i'm not going to click now" issue, when suddenly i started hearing this clicking noise coming from the lower left hand section of my laptop. which, if any of u have ever had a hard drive die -- u know this could potentially be the click of death in HD terms. i went into panic mode and decided i needed to back up everything. in the world of bina -- that means like 8,000 photos, and 5,000 bits of music in itunes and a gazillion other bits of information (including all the quicken files, letters to everybody and his brother, all the chats worth saving, and all my blogs and writings). this process is cumbersome and slow and honestly, i'd rather have my teeth drilled without novacaine than do it, but its necessary in the world of computers.
so i did it and we won't talk about how much space i eradicated from my handy-dandy little firelite smarkdisk 100GB pocket drive. but let's just suffice to say that it doesn't even begin to include all the shareware that is on my computer -- and over an hour and a half later we're still copying bits of music and idk what else. when i started the process i still had 80GB left on the drive, now i have 25GB -- so that should tell u something!!
now i've had hard drives fail in the past. we had several fail on the three PC computers we had in our store and backing stuff up is really important and we should all do it often -- but i haven't done it in full since may of 2008 right before i bought my current computer. so u can well imagine just how much additional information i've added in that amount of time. and part of my problem with stuff on my computer is pretty much like stuff that comes into my apartment -- idk when to stop or how or what to get rid of and when. so whatever is on there, just gets transferred and who wants to go through all that stuff anyhow???
i keep thinking about this show that's become popular called "hoarders". could i be considered a hoarder when it comes to my computer??? oh dear ....
crazy vacation chain of thought ...
my daughter and i stayed at a friend's house for three days (two nights) house/puppy sitting. we've done this before and its usually been for a week. but this time it was only three days, so we decided not to sleep in the king sized bed but sleep out in the livingroom on the sofa and various other chairs. actually, i decided this because i didn't want to have to strip the king-sized bed, wash the sheets and struggle to remake the king-sized bed. i did say that it was king-sized, didn't i? lol
we always like these little getaways from the every day. its like having our own home -- for a week. the interesting thing is that right now with all the stuff that is happening at our subsidized living quarters, this little "vacation" was a Papa God gift!
unfortunately, i got sick -- sore throat and fever. it was enough to make me uncomfortable and wishing for my own bed and sleep. so when i got home last night i figured i could sleep in today -- since we're on school vacation. that didn't happen because they r doing construction work (well, actually its destruction work) and the diggers were out there bright and early at 7am making a ruckus and shaking the earth. i'm not a sound sleeper -- so, i didn't get to sleep in.
with all the mess that is going (and about to go on) here, it makes me wish for a place of my own. a place i could call my home. i can't call this place my home. when i was talking to my brother about all the stuff that was/is about to happen here he suggested that i either move to texas or to PA to be nearer my dad. he called it "home". i wrote back and said, "you don't get it. i don't have a home -- anywhere". and that, in a tiny neat little nutshell, is the problem.
i'm stuck in my "entitlement" (as i have started to call it) because i don't make enough money to live anywhere other than the streets. i'm stuck bowing to whatever they want to do here (like ripping out old fiberglass insulation in tiny little kitchens without taking proper precautions and injecting cancer causing formaldehyde foam into its place). and i can't get them to not do it. i tried calling the city inspectors, the department of health and human services and the EPA (which obviously never listen to their messages because they never call me back). its like that song in the musical 1776 -- is anybody there? does anybody care? i'm pretty sure the answer is NO.
one of the city health inspectors said something along the lines of if u owned ur own place and wanted to have this done u'd have to put up with this. and, of course, my two-fold response is -- first of all i wouldn't be stupid enough to replace fiberglass with foam and second of all, if it was absolutely necessary (ie, mold), i would make dang sure that whoever i chose to do the work was certified to do it -- not just a friend of a friend of a friend -- if u know what i mean.
but i digress because really this whole point of this blog is that i have no home. i have no place to call mine. and there r lots of ppl who r in the same boat i am. my daughter recently had to fill out an application for a scholarship (which was run through the housing authority). the main question was "how has living in subsidized housing impacted your life". her feeling was that it hadn't -- either negatively or positively. because when we moved in here i explained to her that we were no better or worse than the ppl who lived here (even though some of them were dealing drugs and sleeping with each other's spouses -- no, i didn't actually say that), and that this was a roof over our heads -- that what made home was family. she asked me what she should write -- i only said, "do u want the scholarship?"
so now having said that home is where family is -- y don't i feel like i have a "home". one could make the case that its because i'm not with my brother and my dad and my kids 24/7 -- and maybe i'm nostalgic for the time in history when families didn't travel so far away for jobs and lives and sometimes even lived generations together in the same place. but its more than that. i do have a "life" here -- i have built a life here in this cold, sometimes unfriendly state, that my now ex dragged me back to over 24 years ago. i have made friends and have a church group, and there is support in many ways -- not talking financial here but more along the lines of emotional and spiritual.
so i ask the question again -- y don't i feel at "home" here -- y don't i feel like i have what it is i really believe is a home. i feel so displaced sometimes. like its not where i'm supposed to be. and will i know where i'm supposed to be when i get there or will i feel just as uneasy there as here. and yes, these thoughts have come up before -- but i think now more than ever i'm standing at the crossroads wondering which way am i supposed to go. and thinking too that i need to make the right choice this time and not screw it up like i have so many times in the past.
yes, one crazy strange little "vacation" started a whole chain of thought that can't even be truly formalized. is anybody there? does anybody care? does anybody see what i see?
we always like these little getaways from the every day. its like having our own home -- for a week. the interesting thing is that right now with all the stuff that is happening at our subsidized living quarters, this little "vacation" was a Papa God gift!
unfortunately, i got sick -- sore throat and fever. it was enough to make me uncomfortable and wishing for my own bed and sleep. so when i got home last night i figured i could sleep in today -- since we're on school vacation. that didn't happen because they r doing construction work (well, actually its destruction work) and the diggers were out there bright and early at 7am making a ruckus and shaking the earth. i'm not a sound sleeper -- so, i didn't get to sleep in.
with all the mess that is going (and about to go on) here, it makes me wish for a place of my own. a place i could call my home. i can't call this place my home. when i was talking to my brother about all the stuff that was/is about to happen here he suggested that i either move to texas or to PA to be nearer my dad. he called it "home". i wrote back and said, "you don't get it. i don't have a home -- anywhere". and that, in a tiny neat little nutshell, is the problem.
i'm stuck in my "entitlement" (as i have started to call it) because i don't make enough money to live anywhere other than the streets. i'm stuck bowing to whatever they want to do here (like ripping out old fiberglass insulation in tiny little kitchens without taking proper precautions and injecting cancer causing formaldehyde foam into its place). and i can't get them to not do it. i tried calling the city inspectors, the department of health and human services and the EPA (which obviously never listen to their messages because they never call me back). its like that song in the musical 1776 -- is anybody there? does anybody care? i'm pretty sure the answer is NO.
one of the city health inspectors said something along the lines of if u owned ur own place and wanted to have this done u'd have to put up with this. and, of course, my two-fold response is -- first of all i wouldn't be stupid enough to replace fiberglass with foam and second of all, if it was absolutely necessary (ie, mold), i would make dang sure that whoever i chose to do the work was certified to do it -- not just a friend of a friend of a friend -- if u know what i mean.
but i digress because really this whole point of this blog is that i have no home. i have no place to call mine. and there r lots of ppl who r in the same boat i am. my daughter recently had to fill out an application for a scholarship (which was run through the housing authority). the main question was "how has living in subsidized housing impacted your life". her feeling was that it hadn't -- either negatively or positively. because when we moved in here i explained to her that we were no better or worse than the ppl who lived here (even though some of them were dealing drugs and sleeping with each other's spouses -- no, i didn't actually say that), and that this was a roof over our heads -- that what made home was family. she asked me what she should write -- i only said, "do u want the scholarship?"
so now having said that home is where family is -- y don't i feel like i have a "home". one could make the case that its because i'm not with my brother and my dad and my kids 24/7 -- and maybe i'm nostalgic for the time in history when families didn't travel so far away for jobs and lives and sometimes even lived generations together in the same place. but its more than that. i do have a "life" here -- i have built a life here in this cold, sometimes unfriendly state, that my now ex dragged me back to over 24 years ago. i have made friends and have a church group, and there is support in many ways -- not talking financial here but more along the lines of emotional and spiritual.
so i ask the question again -- y don't i feel at "home" here -- y don't i feel like i have what it is i really believe is a home. i feel so displaced sometimes. like its not where i'm supposed to be. and will i know where i'm supposed to be when i get there or will i feel just as uneasy there as here. and yes, these thoughts have come up before -- but i think now more than ever i'm standing at the crossroads wondering which way am i supposed to go. and thinking too that i need to make the right choice this time and not screw it up like i have so many times in the past.
yes, one crazy strange little "vacation" started a whole chain of thought that can't even be truly formalized. is anybody there? does anybody care? does anybody see what i see?
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
entitlement?? i think not!
so yesterday morning on the way home from dropping off my daughter at school, i was listening to this christian radio station. on came a commentary by some guy (probably important in the christian world but i didn't recognize or remember the name) about taxes. he was seemingly outraged over a recent report stating that half of US households don't pay any income taxes. he went on to speak about how many of these families were poor or lower middle class who felt "entitled" to not having to pay income taxes or in some cases receiving refunds because of all the deductions.
honestly. i'm poor -- actually, we're so poor we don't even make it to the chart -- so that's pretty poor. i don't feel entitled to a darn thing. i'd like to have a job making a regular salary -- but i can't seem to find one. but i don't feel entitled to anything. and if this guy thinks that living in subsidized housing is an entitlement, then he needs to come here and live for a while and see if its really all he thinks it is. i don't get food stamps and i occasionally will visit the local foodbank (but i don't go every month or every week like some folks i know and i don't take everything that is offered either). never ever have i felt that i was entitled to anything.
recently during this whole health care debate, i asked the question about how poor ppl without an income or who weren't making ends meet now were supposed to afford to "buy" this required health care, and someone (an acquaintance of mine) made the statement that i shouldn't worry because some other taxpayer would be forced to pay a larger amount in order for those of us who couldn't afford it to be "entitled" to it.
i'm really tired of ppl using this word. in the bible, we r commanded by jesus to feed the hungry, house the homeless, clothe the naked, right the injustices, break the chains. christians need to get a grip on this because not only is it stated by jesus -- its stated by god (isaiah 58) that that is the kind of "fasting" he requires. u can't "give" it and then be negative about it by saying we feel "entitled" to it.
here's the reality -- yes, there r ppl who milk the system for all they can get. but there r also ppl who don't have anywhere else to go, nothing else to stand on, who genuinely need a helping hand and to lump us all together because u feel the tax/government system is broken and its all "our fault" is an unfair assessment. try living in my shoes for a day, week, month, year -- maybe ur views would be softened and changed. we aren't all leeches -- some of us r just trying to get by.
honestly. i'm poor -- actually, we're so poor we don't even make it to the chart -- so that's pretty poor. i don't feel entitled to a darn thing. i'd like to have a job making a regular salary -- but i can't seem to find one. but i don't feel entitled to anything. and if this guy thinks that living in subsidized housing is an entitlement, then he needs to come here and live for a while and see if its really all he thinks it is. i don't get food stamps and i occasionally will visit the local foodbank (but i don't go every month or every week like some folks i know and i don't take everything that is offered either). never ever have i felt that i was entitled to anything.
recently during this whole health care debate, i asked the question about how poor ppl without an income or who weren't making ends meet now were supposed to afford to "buy" this required health care, and someone (an acquaintance of mine) made the statement that i shouldn't worry because some other taxpayer would be forced to pay a larger amount in order for those of us who couldn't afford it to be "entitled" to it.
i'm really tired of ppl using this word. in the bible, we r commanded by jesus to feed the hungry, house the homeless, clothe the naked, right the injustices, break the chains. christians need to get a grip on this because not only is it stated by jesus -- its stated by god (isaiah 58) that that is the kind of "fasting" he requires. u can't "give" it and then be negative about it by saying we feel "entitled" to it.
here's the reality -- yes, there r ppl who milk the system for all they can get. but there r also ppl who don't have anywhere else to go, nothing else to stand on, who genuinely need a helping hand and to lump us all together because u feel the tax/government system is broken and its all "our fault" is an unfair assessment. try living in my shoes for a day, week, month, year -- maybe ur views would be softened and changed. we aren't all leeches -- some of us r just trying to get by.
Friday, April 9, 2010
well-meaning ....
so a couple/three weeks ago i went for a job interview (won't say where) and it was like the first job interview i'd had in a while and it was with 5 ppl. i have never interviewed with 5 ppl asking me questions (kinda like a firing squad). at any rate, i thought i had done pretty well during the interview, although maybe i mentioned papa god too much (but he does come along with the package so get used to it) and it was at a church, so u would think they would understand. and maybe i was too flippant about the fact that i really didn't care too much how much it paid or the benefits (there were none) or vacation time (well maybe just a little) and after all, i'd worked as a church secretary before and so why shouldn't u hire me (when asked y should we hire u). but as u can guess by the tone of all this, i didn't get the job. i got a very nicely hand written note saying that although they were very (their emphasis not mine) impressed with my credentials they had given the job to another candidate. which in job lingo means either i blew the interview or i'm too old for the position or they were looking at someone from the church to begin with (i'd like to take this as the reason if u don't mind) or a myriad of reasons that i'll never know because it wasn't spelled out in the note.
honestly, at one point one of the interviewers asked me if i saw this part-time job as a stepping stone to something else. i had to think about this because i'm 54 for crying out loud. so, what would it be a stepping stone to?? death?? i mean it was a legitimate interview type question, but the reality is that i'm 54 and the probability of this being a stepping stone to anything is slim to none. if i were 20 or 30 -- maybe yes, but not at 54. this is the time in ppl's lives when they start thinking about "winding down" -- since i never got wound up, the probability is that its not going to happen now.
at any rate, i digress because its not the job or the interview or the rejection that is troubling me -- because i've been this route a lot of times before (like when i didn't even get an interview for a job as a data entry clerk at the local feed store -- a job i could have probably done in my sleep). what's troubling me is ppl's reactions to me. and some of these ppl r christians and probably ought to know better.
so one common reaction is "well, that just means that god doesn't want u there and has something better lined up for u". which on the surface seems like a really great comment to make, and i have to admit that i have used it myself for friends who have had job rejections, but it isn't really helpful in that i already know that papa god might well have had other plans for me. however, one look at my practically non-existent bank account tells u that i need a job with an income NOW. and i do trust papa god to find the right thing for me at the right time and that his timing is never my timing, but honestly, this is cutting things to the quick if u ask me and i've been bleeding for quite some time and that really needs to stop soon.
another reaction i get is, "well, u don't want to work there because they rn't a spirit-filled church and u'd be unhappy there". excuse me, but where in the bible does it say that i can only work in spirit filled places? if that were true, then there would be very few jobs for christians in this world and we'd have a lot of unemployed christians needing to live on assistance. on the contrary, i think we r called to go out into the world and work and be among the world and still shine papa god's light and possibly bring ppl to papa god by shining his light. jesus hung with all sorts of ppl who were "frowned upon" by the priests and elders. but what he said was that it was the healthy who needed the doctor -- it was the sick. so i don't get this attitude of some christians that we're only supposed to be working or playing or whatever in places or with ppl that r spirit-filled. what kind of a weird clique is that? and to be honest, i've worked in a lot of places where i wasn't particularly happy but i kept working there and doing a really good job, and dropping it at the door as i left for the day because i can do that - especially when i need the paycheck. i know a lot of ppl who can do that. i don't think i'm weird in this respect. where does it say that because we believe in god and jesus that we're entitled to complete and utter happiness 100% of the time?? i'm pretty sure it doesn't say that anywhere in the bible -- at least i haven't found it yet.
its strange to think that because i haven't worked in the real world for 20 years doing something i was so very good at that now i can't get a job. especially considering that i haven't lost any of the skills -- and if anything, have only improved -- although its not something that shows on paper. and maybe that isn't the reason they didn't offer me the job -- maybe i really did blow the interview because i seemed "over confident" or whatever. if they only knew that 5 years ago they would have had to scrape me off the pavement for the low self-esteem and that where i am today is a huge improvement over the mousey little twit that i was -- and that's not to demean anyone but me where i was -- so please don't take that personally. but if, in fact, the reason they didn't hire me was because there was an internal candidate that was a better fit, that's great. because my response to the interviewers was that i wanted to be where papa god wanted me and what would be a good fit for me and for them. so at this point, since i have no real explanation for the rejection, i will take this to mean that they found someone who is a good fit for them, someone that god wants in that position and i will keep looking and keep my eyes on papa god and trusting him. and i will continue to refrain from telling my well-meaning christian friends what i think when their responses match the ones above -- this i do in love.
honestly, at one point one of the interviewers asked me if i saw this part-time job as a stepping stone to something else. i had to think about this because i'm 54 for crying out loud. so, what would it be a stepping stone to?? death?? i mean it was a legitimate interview type question, but the reality is that i'm 54 and the probability of this being a stepping stone to anything is slim to none. if i were 20 or 30 -- maybe yes, but not at 54. this is the time in ppl's lives when they start thinking about "winding down" -- since i never got wound up, the probability is that its not going to happen now.
at any rate, i digress because its not the job or the interview or the rejection that is troubling me -- because i've been this route a lot of times before (like when i didn't even get an interview for a job as a data entry clerk at the local feed store -- a job i could have probably done in my sleep). what's troubling me is ppl's reactions to me. and some of these ppl r christians and probably ought to know better.
so one common reaction is "well, that just means that god doesn't want u there and has something better lined up for u". which on the surface seems like a really great comment to make, and i have to admit that i have used it myself for friends who have had job rejections, but it isn't really helpful in that i already know that papa god might well have had other plans for me. however, one look at my practically non-existent bank account tells u that i need a job with an income NOW. and i do trust papa god to find the right thing for me at the right time and that his timing is never my timing, but honestly, this is cutting things to the quick if u ask me and i've been bleeding for quite some time and that really needs to stop soon.
another reaction i get is, "well, u don't want to work there because they rn't a spirit-filled church and u'd be unhappy there". excuse me, but where in the bible does it say that i can only work in spirit filled places? if that were true, then there would be very few jobs for christians in this world and we'd have a lot of unemployed christians needing to live on assistance. on the contrary, i think we r called to go out into the world and work and be among the world and still shine papa god's light and possibly bring ppl to papa god by shining his light. jesus hung with all sorts of ppl who were "frowned upon" by the priests and elders. but what he said was that it was the healthy who needed the doctor -- it was the sick. so i don't get this attitude of some christians that we're only supposed to be working or playing or whatever in places or with ppl that r spirit-filled. what kind of a weird clique is that? and to be honest, i've worked in a lot of places where i wasn't particularly happy but i kept working there and doing a really good job, and dropping it at the door as i left for the day because i can do that - especially when i need the paycheck. i know a lot of ppl who can do that. i don't think i'm weird in this respect. where does it say that because we believe in god and jesus that we're entitled to complete and utter happiness 100% of the time?? i'm pretty sure it doesn't say that anywhere in the bible -- at least i haven't found it yet.
its strange to think that because i haven't worked in the real world for 20 years doing something i was so very good at that now i can't get a job. especially considering that i haven't lost any of the skills -- and if anything, have only improved -- although its not something that shows on paper. and maybe that isn't the reason they didn't offer me the job -- maybe i really did blow the interview because i seemed "over confident" or whatever. if they only knew that 5 years ago they would have had to scrape me off the pavement for the low self-esteem and that where i am today is a huge improvement over the mousey little twit that i was -- and that's not to demean anyone but me where i was -- so please don't take that personally. but if, in fact, the reason they didn't hire me was because there was an internal candidate that was a better fit, that's great. because my response to the interviewers was that i wanted to be where papa god wanted me and what would be a good fit for me and for them. so at this point, since i have no real explanation for the rejection, i will take this to mean that they found someone who is a good fit for them, someone that god wants in that position and i will keep looking and keep my eyes on papa god and trusting him. and i will continue to refrain from telling my well-meaning christian friends what i think when their responses match the ones above -- this i do in love.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
more new things
so i've made two necklaces and thirteen pairs of earrings in two days. it cannot be said that i did not work in the last two days ....
Saturday, April 3, 2010
still creating ....
so, just in case anyone thinks i haven't been working on jewelry and crocheted items, i have and here r some of the results. i haven't put anything up at my etsy shop yet. i just finished taking photos and need to work on descriptions. but let me know what u think.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
misfits ...
so this morning i went to have a snack with a friend at panera. this guy and his wife r amazing ppl, with so much of the heart of god in them and so loving to papa god's children -- its just awesomeness!! at any rate, we always joke around about how "weird" i am -- basically how weird we both r and some of our good friends and how weird they r. we're not conventional christians. u know what i'm talking about -- the ones who go to church on sundays, say hi-dee ho-dee to u and then blow u off for the rest of the week. the ppl who put their money in the bucket and forget about where it might actually being going and what it might actually be doing for other brothers and sisters (and i'm not talking about brothers and sisters as in other christians, but as in other ppl). but see that's where the weirdness comes in because i firmly believe that we're all brother and sisters coz we're all god's children -- yeah i might get hate mail for this ....
so after spending a couple of hours with my friend and talking about how radically different we r and how much we love papa god's ppl and want to be free to express papa god's love to all his children, etc., etc., i came away thinking about the land of the misfit toys and was prepared to write a blog all wrapped around that. and so i googled it and this amazing blog came up:
and i realized after reading it, that maybe we're not so weird after all. that there r maybe more of us out there than meets the eye. more of us who choose to not just know the stories and understand the theology, but who choose to put it into action. and it made me happy.
i had just said earlier that i was relishing my weirdness and how wonderful it was because papa god made me that way and he loves me that way. and he loves all his children in the wonderful ways that he made them as well. but ppl kept asking me what normal was and i didn't have an answer because i'm weird and i don't really know what normal is. and someone said that normal was the setting on the washing machine. which made me laugh. and isn't that wonderful and weird in its own kind of weirdness way.
so maybe those of us who profess to be weird r really the norm. maybe there r more of us out there that want to just love each other and be in relationship (not the sexual kind but the Koinonia kind) with each other. and its so cool to find other ppl who feel the same way. and so i'm wondering -- how many of us r there?? think of all the ppl we could introduce to papa god by just shining his light and loving on his children. its an awesomeness kind of moment for me ... and so i had to share ...
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