Category Archives: Poverty in Action

Know them by their deeds

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One of my few strengths is being able to admit when I’m wrong. And I have to say a great big huge apology to someone who I was not terribly kind to.

Last night, Wonder told me someone wanted to help out my current situation with some money, anonymously if they could. I wracked my brains trying to think who it could be, but I could not have been more shocked when I saw who it was (turns out paypal isn’t so anonymous). This is someone I have not been nice to, someone I have been pretty dismissively mean to. For that, I am sorry. I guess I figured you were one of those types of Christians I run across all the time, all talk and judgment, not a lot of charity.

Thank you for your generous gift. I know you have kids and it’s Christmas,that money could have gone for toys for your own kids. So please know it means a lot to us. It will help us get some groceries and cover overdraft fees until we get food stamps, and I am sure that if the Kid knew you’re the reason we get to have a really good dinner tonight, he’d give you a tackle hug.

For not giving you the benefit of the doubt before, I am sorry. I am sure we will find many many ways to disagree in the future, but performing an act of charity for someone you don’t get along with very well is pretty much the top of the list of ways Christians are supposed to be good. I am sorry, and thankful, and very impressed.

More on the human tribe and apathy

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Shakes has the horrific story of a 15 year old girl in Brazil who was thrown into a prison for men and gang raped for a month.

The standard response is “Why didn’t anyone do something”

I will say right here- none of us knows what we would have done in that situation. The statistics show that most of us would have ignored it. Even if we think we would have done something, the chances are that we wouldn’t have, and I am just as guilty despite my general concern and proggy tendencies.

So instead of lamenting the human condition and being outraged that nothing was done to help this girl, I want to know what do we do to change society so that helping is the standard response and ignoring the pain of others is the shameful response instead of the backwards way we have it now.

How poverty really works, and how sometimes the universe gives you presents

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Three months ago, when I started classes, I stopped receiving food stamps. My income level is such that based on income alone, I am unequivocally eligible for the full amount of food stamps per month for 2 people.

But I had the gall, as a poor person, to get an education. And not just an education, but I was going for an academic degree. And people in academic programs are not eligible for food stamps.

If I had known my place and instead went for a technical certificate in something like medical assisting (a career where I would make less hourly than I do now) then I would have been eligible not only for food stamps but for a whole host of other programs.

With few exceptions*, technical and vocational programs do not lift people out of poverty permanently. They stave off poverty only as long as those skills are in high demand. And once the demand is met, those technical certificates are worth little.

So we have been without food stamps for three months. It is not a coincidence that those are the three moths I owe rent for. It was a choice. Feed the Kid or pay rent. That is the total of what my meager earning can provide. I chose feed the kid.

So now Christmas is looming along with an eviction. Payday isn’t until Friday and my bank account is overdrawn. The cupboards and fridge are near bare and last night I had the Kid eat a super loaded baked potato for dinner. The last potato, actually. He was mortified that I was skipping dinner and kept trying to give me his potato. If he had known that I skipped lunch too, I don’t think I could have gotten him to eat. After he went to bed, I had some celery and some chicken stock. I swear I’m not on some super restriction diet, though it sounds like it.

Today is the last day of class, and I filed for food stamps this morning. In a week or so, we can go to the grocery store and restock the cabinets (if there are cabinets to be stocked). In the mean time I just have to get through till Friday.

So I came into work today. On the last day of every quarter we have a big pot luck lunch, but I usually get here too late to get anything. The universe smiled on me today though, cause I have never seen such a spread in over four years here. I just loaded up a plate with turkey and potato salad and orzo salad with artichoke hearts and mashed potatoes and …….

I was planning on skipping lunch today too. I’m really glad I didn’t have to.

*Exception- the program I work for actually teaches skills that people can use to start their own business. They have high earing potential straight after graduation. This is a program that was originally designed for a very male dominated field, which might explain why the income potential is higher than that of other vocational programs. We have a large population of female students and a very gender friendly campus.

The Human Tribe and some other stuff

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Wonder and I had a giggly, manic phone conversation till the wee hours last night. Some highlights include:

The use of the southern y’all versus you guys. I don’t like y’all, but I like the gender specific you guys even less. I have decided to use “you peeps” instead. It is gender neutral and has the added bonus conjuring up images of fluffy marshmallow chicks.

Our family has a very distinct way of speaking. I wasn’t raised around my cousins and it wasn’t until a few years ago that I started seeing them on what could be considered a regular basis. When I took my first 2 week long Christmas vacation to the family compound, I was weirded out by all these women who have the same squeaky voice as me, who use the same inflections as me, the same weird phrases as me. We say “I suppose” and “exxXactly” way too much.

Wonder and I were also talking about how people everywhere are racist. I think it’s the tribal thing- we all want to categorize who belongs and who doesn’t.

So from that thought- this morning I decided that if we really want to end global warming – we need to dress it up as a two headed alien with acid green skin. That way we can look at all the other humans and say “We are way more like each other than we are like the green monster” and get over ourselves.

News from the home front

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I have been under some major stress. About a week ago I got a legal notice from my landlord that they are trying to evict me. This same landlord has recently raised my rent without giving the required 60 days notice, (actually she gave it to me after the effective date of the rent increase with a note that said I owed x amount in back rent plus late fees) and I have been without cabinet doors in my kitchen or heat in my bedroom (okay, there is a heater but it’s a fire hazard and not usable) for going on two years now.

Yep- I haven’t paid my rent since October. Granted, I have no idea what my actual rent amount is since she raised it and despite being pretty damn patient I am not in the mood to spend another winter sleeping in the living room, effectively turning my two bedroom apartment into a one bedroom because it’s too damn cold to sleep upstairs.

So I sent my little non-legalese response to her attorney. I don’t know how this is going to turn out. Kid and I may end up homeless for Christmas. But just having sent in the response I feel better.

Wish me luck- I think it’s going to be a bumpy ride.

They really don’t pay me enough

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So student I have never met before comes into the lab on the second to last day of the quarter to finish a project. He asks for help on the computer. No problem, that’s my job.

Then- problem.
“Can you show me how to multiply these numbers?”
I go over, take a look, happy to help until I see that he is trying to do a spreadsheet in a drawing program. “No, you can’t multiply in a drawing program, here’s the calculator”.

Five minutes later…

“Uhm, is there a better calculator?”

“Why?”

“This won’t do percents, there’s no percent sign”.

Dear gawd- I am here to teach computers. I am not here to teach eight grade math. But I do.

“A percent is a part of a whole. There is never a percent sign on a calculator. You can multiply it by .15 to get 15 percent and then add that to the original number or you can multiply it by 1.15 and skip the adding part”.

Lotto Shopping

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Kid and I play the “If we won the lotto” game, a lot (when you have nothing, everything is a big dream- go with it).

So today we were playing the where would we travel game

Christmas in florida with the fam and a real trip to disneyworld

A visit to some silly girl in Hawaii that keeps stalking me on the internet in February

School trip (over 3000 per person) to Spain and France in march

Nate’s (the Kid) regular Atlanta trip in July while Mommy goes and drinks wine in Hungary

Japan in August

Mexico to see Mayan ruins and for dias de los muertos in November

Then- cause I’m all inclusive and shit, I got Brandann involved (being that she is the crazy stalker in Hawaii- if I am planning an imaginary trip to visit her i should include her)

So here are a few more destinations:

Taiwan
India
Cuba

Any other suggestions? I’d like to see the Hermitage in Russia, and London, and Rome is my favorite city ever.