A few weeks ago I severely injured my back. I don’t even know how I hurt myself. One night I was out running in 40 degree weather in shorts and a t-shirt and the next morning I bent down to pick something up and I got stuck on my way back up. I felt a pull on my lower back and instantly my body stiffened. I continued to get ready for work despite my difficulty in moving around. I figured as long I kept on moving my body would loosen up.
Well I can tell you that I was completely wrong. As the day went by the stiffness began to worsen. My body looked like it was contorting as my upper body began to slant to the right and my left hip seem to start pushing my right hip down. The pain began to intensify. It was harder and harder to get up from my chair and I walked slower as my body continued to disfigure itself. By the time I got home that evening I could barely move. I took very small steps to move around; barely lifting my feet. So as I slowly navigated around my house to continue my daily routine you could only here light swishes as my shoes slowly shuffled against the hardwood floor.
I do have to say that the one good thing from being injured like this was having my dogs behave extremely well. My puppy just stared in confusion not understanding why I moved so slow. My older dog walked right beside me and each time he got ahead of me he would turn back to make sure I was ok. If I were able to think I would have recorded them.
A couple of days later the pain began to subside. So let’s say I got a bit excited and after work that day I began to run around doing errands, some of which consisted lifting a few things. Well that night turned to hell. My back muscles began to spasm so hard that my entire body would tense up and I could do nothing but hold on until the spasm stopped. This last a few hours and did not stop until my mother conducted a few natural treatments that are popular, from what I understand, in the Mexican culture.
First, she had me lay on my stomach. She lifted up my shirt and took a small candle and set it on the areas that seemed to be inflamed on my back. She lit the candle and put a glass cup over it. I could feel the skin rising within the cup. When she removed the cup you could feel and hear a puff of air come out. She continued to do this until I could no longer feel my skin rising nor hear the puff of air when she pulled the cup away. After that she massaged my with a muscle relaxant and wrapped me up to give my back support. We continued this ritual twice a day for the next seven days. Each day I was better. Less pain, my body slanted less to the right, and I began to walk much better.
A couple of weeks after that incident I signed up for L.A. Fitness determined to strengthen my body so I would never have to go through this ordeal again. I didn’t get my doctor’s opinion but I concluded on my own that being healthy and strong would minimize such injuries. As when you sign up with any gym that offers personal training they always sign you up for a personal assessment. A few days later I met with the personal trainer and explained to him my back injury.
His reaction almost blew me away when I told him what my mother’s diagnosis was. My mother and well the rest of my family also, believed that my injury resulted from running “half-naked” in very cold weather. The personal trainer on the other hand concluded that my family was telling me lies or myths when in actuality the injury had to have resulted from something else. He wasn’t sure what it could have been, but he was sure that it was not from running in the cold.
Now I usually respect other people’s opinions because everyone has a right to their own beliefs. But the body language and use of words of this made me slap him and give him the finger in my mind as I listened to him. First, because he is not a doctor and second, how does he know whether I agree or not with my family’s diagnosis? For his sake I would have just nodded my head in agreement to at least try to close the deal on the personal training. His reaction caught me completely off guard and I could do nothing my blare my huge eyes at him in awe.
So there are a few issues here. The westernized thinking of medicine has completely annulled any natural healing and has ignored what the causes of injuries and illnesses are. In addition, because some culture’s ideology is so far fetched from the accustomed western thinking it is concluded that it is either wrong or exaggerated. This way of thinking is offensive because no one’s way of healing or becoming healthy is superior to another’s. Therefore, this trainer’s opinion on my family’s beliefs should either have not been shared or perhaps shared in a different manner. We must remember to
respect so in turn we can be respected. Needless to say, I did not sign up with
him for personal training.
As I have immersed myself more and more into political activism or organizing I think I have opened my eyes to see the extremely sad reality of the planet. We all know this is not a perfect world, but do we understand how imperfect it is? Or is it that we understand but we choose to ignore and continue our repetitive fast-paced routines.
In regards to the Trayvon case, I think it is more than just possible racial profiling. It is a whole culture that has been imbedded in our brains through a mixed bag of past history, misinformation, and political and capitalist oppression. We base our emotions on the immediate ideas around us instead of exploring outside our communities to form our own opinions.
The Trayvon case is sadder than just losing a minor to racial profiling. It’s a small tidbit of what is going around the entire world with various races. It’s interesting that one of the articles on Zimmerman stated that he tutored two African-American children despite having to travel to a “dangerous” neighborhood. Dangerous neighborhoods are created again through misinformation, or lack of it, combined with the oppression that has resulted from politics, capitalism, and flat out racism. It is why people of the same race or culture stick together in the same neighborhoods. Why would they venture out and be beaten and let down by discrimination. It is this type of mentality on both sides of the fence that create racial profiling and it’s hard to breakdown and digest. Why would we think negatively of anyone just based on skin color? You don’t. The negativity comes from a long history of ill defined superiority.
In the case if Zimmerman, would it be surprising that his emotions led to racial profiling despite his good deeds and community service work. No, it should not be surprising to anyone because this is the culture we have created and this is the culture we continue to fuel. This is the way we are raising our children to feel afraid or superior instead of teaching a level of understanding on why things are the way they are and to fight to chnage it. What’s even sadder is that people would rather stay quiet and be fueled by their ignorance or misconception than to get out and seek the actual truth. This is what has given birth to activism because there is more to this complex situation than what meets the eye and the problem is bigger than just racial profiling. It’s an inappropriate culture that has been instilled in this country for centuries and all people of all races, genders, ages, and cultures feel it. This case looked outside of the picture is so much more heartbreaking than you think.
A couple of days ago, a well-known and very respected actress, Kate del Castillo wrote a statement via Twitter declaring that she has more faith in El Chapo Guzman than in the governments. She did not specify what governments, but at this point I would include everyone on this planet. Corrupt government officials are popping out like weeds in a malnourished yard.
Just in case you know nothing of El Chapo let me give you a little bit of background. El Chapo is in fact one of the most richest and powerful drug lords to currently exist. He leads the drug trafficking organization the Sinaloa Cartel. Yahoo recently reported that he has an estimated fortune of $1 billion dollars and has been included on the Forbe’s list of the worlds richest every year since 2009. (On a side note, does that beat Oprah?) Despite this he is currently ranked as the 10th richest man in Mexico. I wonder who is number one. Both the U.S. and Mexican governments are offering a reward for clues on his whereabouts that can lead to his capture. He was captured once, but escaped prison in early 2001 and become the most powerful in 2003.
So back to Kate’s comment; she stated the following:
“Today, I believe more in El Chapo Guzman than in the governments who hide truths from me………Mr. Chapo wouldn’t it be great if you started trafficking with positive things? With cures for diseases, with food for street children, with alcohol for old people’s homes so they spend their final days doing whatever they like, trafficking with corrupt politicians and not with women and children who wind up as slaves?”
Now here is the thing, I wish, I hoped, I would love to have a robin hood who steals from the rich and gives to the poor. How awesome would it be to steal a cure for cancer from the rich and distribute that medication or knowledge to the poor? It would literally bring peace to so many people. Unfortunately, for people like me and Kate, the world does not function that way. Those who are above us, those with the power, have made the worlds pinnacle out of money and at the end of the day all that really matters is the bottom line. For El Chapo, it would be completely disastrous to replace his drug trafficking business of marijuana, heroine, and methamphetamine and replace it with care and love. It will literally drain his $1 billion in funds. Another factor that would work against that is that even if El Chapo were to turn around and do this look at how many other cartels out there are fighting for turf in Mexico. If El Chapo steps down, some one else will re-emerge and it will be a never ending story.
Even to reason with Kate’s statement is impossible. Mexico, in my eyes, is one of the most religious places I have seen. So when El Chapo murdered a Cardinal, in that one moment, he has stabbed Mexico in the heart and should be known as a person unreliable to the true and innocent Mexican citizens. On the other hand though, who knows the Cardinal was linked with these cartels. It wouldn’t be the first time that religions slaps its people in the face.
This whole situation saddens me because the drug war is linked to the immigration issue. So not only do the people in Mexico suffer, but also the people who migrated here to the United States. No matter where you go you live in fear and those that are angered about the situation usually end up joining the war instead of fighting against it. So when you look at Mitt Romney’s history, how dare he not take a more ethical approach on dealing with the Dream Act. His family was able to move back and forth from Mexico to free themselves of religious prosecution, but those who leave Mexico just to save their lives are thrown back into the fire. Thank you Mitt, I am sure that you if you are elected as president you will finish us off Mortal Kombat style, including the “right-wing conservatives” that are supporting you.
Putting all this into perspective though, we don’t know anymore what politicians are corrupt and which ones are sincere and true to the people. Just look at the operation the Fast and the Furious. U.S. government officials sold guns to Mexico to track and collect these “bad guys”. Instead, they let them run off with these guns, which we later find linked to some of the most gruesome murders in Mexico.
This “drug war” should be taken much more seriously and is much bigger than we think. We are out fighting over seas, while here back at home we are being devoured both by the mobs and our governments. As for Kate, I know here intensions were sincere, possibly even desperate, but what she wishes will never occur. Not from El Chapo or the governments. So the question is how hard are we going to fall and for how long.
Every website you look at, everywhere you turn there is mention on how to keep your New Year’s Resolution. In a way it’s a bit funny because in about two months everyone will have forgotten what their New Year’s Resolution was or why they created it in the first place. It’s a proven fact. I have never had a New Year’s Resolution. Maybe once in a while I have told myself I wanted to lose weight, but I have never really taken it seriously; at least not in the long run. So why put ourselves through this? Don’t we have enough stress to deal with? Or do we like to give ourselves false promises to make us feel better?
2012 is the first year EVER that I have decided to have not only one New Year’s Resolution, but a whole list of them. Before I started my list though, I wanted to see what people were thinking of doing. Below is a list I found online.
1) Lose weight (this is always number one, without a doubt)
2) Take Charge of your own financial life
3) Read at least one book each month
4) Keep a notepad of awesome moments
5) Eat, drink, learn or try something new
6) Get enough sleep
7) Set an attainable goal, like running a 5 or 10k.
8) Embrace your personal style and beauty
9) Take time to read
10) Sing a song at the top of your lungs at least once a week
After reading this, the question is HOW will people do this because to me going to the gym everyday will most likely bore me to death. In fact it has, which is why I don’t go anymore. So instead of copying these resolutions below is what I wrote.
Resolution to lose weight:
I will reach my goal of getting back to my weight of 125 lbs by eating fruits and veggies and by training for the monthly races that I have selected. The races range from 5ks all the way through 13k (which, by the way, I have already started registering for. J). In addition, I will write out the recipes to create a grocery list for the fruit and veggies that I will need throughout the week. I will also write out my training schedule to make sure I stay on track.
Resolution to take charge for my own financial life:
This is a goal that is very dear to my heart because of all the craziness I have been though the last four years as a result from the deceptions of my Ex. So what I have done is logged all the known transactions for 2012 on a spreadsheet by date. Like this I will know how much I can save and how much spending money I will have from each paycheck. There is nothing worse than just blindly blowing through your money to freak out at the end that you don’t have enough for your bills. Here is an example.
Date Transaction Description Payment Amount Deposit Amount Balance
1/06/12 Paycheck $870.00 $870.00
1/29/12 Comed $80.00 $790.00
1/18/12 State Farm $120 $670
1/08/12 School Loans $300 $370
1/06/12 Savings $150 $220
So after your bills are paid AND you have put money in your savings you know how much spending money you have leftover.
In addition to this, it’s a good idea to reward yourself every month if you are doing a good job. For example, if every month I lose let’s say 5lbs, then guess who is going shopping. This gal right here!! Or if you save let’s say $100 a month maybe you can reward yourself with a nice dinner, which will be paid NOT out of your savings.
So I hope my two examples will help you keep your New Years Resolutions because in 6 months believe it or not I will be checking up and remind not only myself, but all of you on the great progress we have come to thus far. And just maybe we can take away the stigma of New Years Resolutions only lasting two months.
Let me know how you wrote out your New Years Resolution!!
The 2012 Presidential Election is coming up and I have been left wondering who I will vote for. As a huge supporter for Obama in 2008, I have been left extremely disappointed like so many other people. On October 5th, 2011, The Wall Street Journal published an article titled “Obama Courts Latino Voters with a White House Forum”. In this forum, which was held at the Interior Department, put Secretary Ken Salazar in the spotlight, a Latino serving the Obama cabinet. The purpose of this event was to recognize Latinos contributions in three different areas; in the American Economy, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and in the Arts and Culture. In addition, according to this article, these types of events are usually not announced to the general public.Yet, since his goal was to captivate the Latino vote the word has been spread with the idea to get it out in the Latino news.
Thinking logically, people will vote for the person they feel they can trust the most. They will vote for the one person that will listen to their problems and actually do something to lessen those problems. The Latino demographic, which is currently the fastest growing demographic in the United States, has a myriad of concerns that need to be worked on ranging from education, violence, health care, and the most obvious AND HURTFUL, immigration. From these problems, the Latino community has not seen any one of them disappear but instead worsen. Since the economy sank to a never ending abyss, those that are here undocumented have been targeted as a problem. All nationalities have been suffering. We all know that deportations have increased since 2008 and continue to increase at an alarming rate. Children in Alabama have stopped going to school, people are growing frustrated which can lead to violence, frustration and less educated people will lead to more issues, and Obama along with the government will continue to let these deportations occur worsening not only the problems within the Latino community but spreading them to their surroundings. Therefore, a forum a year before election will not help when the Latino community, the undocumented community is truly suffering.
The idea of having a government is to regulate issues so everyone can have that opportunity to live the American dream. If the government is only worsening the issues, both at the state and federal level, where are we to turn to? Obama? No. The Latino community will look for someone else who can fulfill these promises and make life better for them as a whole.
Hearing the news and listening to all the madness that is going on nationwide is extremely saddening. People come here to the United States to escape whatever is going on in their homeland. It’s the reason the Cuban’s risk their lives at sea. It’s the reason Southern Latin Americans risk their lives traveling on top of trains being
herded from location to location by some of the most violent gangs in the world.
It’s the reason why Mexican’s take the desert head on with absolutely nothing
but a couple of bottles of water and a few belongings. It is not their fault that rich American capitalists decided to be extra greedy and fed off those that depended on them and then ran off with their riches as the economy shattered to pieces.
There is not a doubt that there are a myriad of problems that need to be taken care of and the further we investigate the problems the more we realize how tangled the web is. First, we need to make sure that everyone is safe. It seems that world terrorism has quieted down, for now at least. The next thing on the agenda should probably be the drug war that floods the streets of northern Mexicoand southern United States. We either need to declare an all out war or legalize drugs to drive out the drug lords and create regulations which will eventually pay off both
Mexico’s and U.S.’s debt. Such legalization would lessen the flow of people traveling back and forth and would even diminish the danger on both sides. Obviously there are other implications that need to be taken into consideration, but this would be a start.
Perhaps such a move would help stop the discriminative and unethical actions that states such as Alabamaand Arizonaare taking. Yet, the drug war has nothing to do with scaring children from attending school. When these children become older and end up joining those gangs and drug wars that these states tried to “fight off”, there will be nothing left to do but to sit down and laugh at the idiocy these states have enveloped themselves in.
Another very important detail is that education is essential to a demographic that is just beginning to develop itself in a nation that considers itself to be on the top of the tier. Education helps people become aware on how to be healthy. It moves the lower class to middle or upper class and as a result violence that is usually embedded in poor neighborhoods begins to diminish. Therefore, when there are children who have dedicated their lives to education we ask nothing more than to have them awarded the right to live in a country that they grew up in. Instead we are punishing them by breaking their families apart and putting a burden on taxpayers, but also increasing the hateful thinking on the children who were sent to unknown foster families. In addition, we have mortified the parents who want nothing but to get their children back. What kind of message are we sending
here?
ICE almost acts on pure stupidity rather than on ethical and logical thinking in regards to immigration. It’s almost like the American government has sent caveman to fix a problem that should be regulated by counselors, scholars, and lawyers who dedicate themselves to actually helping individuals rather than just following orders to get to a bottom line.
So there are two main issues at pointed out in my discussion. We need to create a safer environment not only for Americans, but we should also help create a safer environment for our neighbors. Any imbalance in one of our neighbor’s homes will cause an imbalance to its surroundings. In addition, if education brings stability within a nation, why condone it to an undocumented community that the United States has let live here for decades. Our own economicimbalance was not caused by them. Therefore we should not place blame on them nor try to get rid of them. This does not fix the problem; it’s a temporary band aid. The under laying problem of greed and power will remain and it will continue to hurt the United States like it has hurt so many other nations.
At the end of the day drastic measures need to be taken. And as disappointing as Obama was I find even more disappointing the candidates that will be running against him. What will happen to our nation? Will be eventually evolve back into a third world country? Only time will tell.
Earlier today Yahoo posted an article called “Pastor’s corporal
punishment advice scrutinized after deaths”. Michael Pearl a pastor from
Tennessee and his wife Debi, wrote the book “To Train up a Child”. The book
makes recommendations on using corporal punishment such as hitting children with a belt, wooden spoon, a quarter inch plumbing line, etc, to teach them to submit to authority. Coming from a family who was extremely old school, my brothers and I continually make fun of our parents now for my mom’s flying chanclas or the leather belt that my dad kept behind the door just in case we acted up. Every time my brother knew he was going to be in trouble he would wear three pants or stuff them with pillows. After a while, my brother’s actions became so hilarious that my dad retired his belt and my mom cut off the wings from her chanclas. There was nothing more fun than ducking from those chanclas. I guess we really were wild children.
Corporal punishment seems to not be very popular anymore. I have two younger siblings and they know nothing of the flying chanclas. Yet, with stories like the one posted by Yahoo it’s sad to hear that people don’t recognize when they have crossed the line in the attempt to correct or punish their children. Never did my brothers or I ever have bruises or anything of that sort from when our parents used such type of punishment. If anything was injured it was our egos from thinking we could do whatever we wanted under my parents roof. Yet, it didn’t stop us from trying.
There is a big initiative to get Michael Pearl’s book off the market. In addition, as Yahoo’s title states, Michael Pearl is under fire. I guess from all of this I just don’t understand why common sense seems to be absent. Is it not common sense that if you beat a small child in excess the child might die? Is it not common sense that if you don’t feed a child for days you will get the same result? In addition, if I ever
read a book that told me how to beat my child I think I would probably dismiss
it as a joke. There is no step by step process on how to raise your child because every person and every situation is different. Therefore it completely astonishes me that people would even follow such a book and then still think it was ok that they beat their child to death. As they beat their child did nothing spark in their brain that they were seriously hurting their loved one and perhaps such punishment may not be the best form to use if the child is not learning anything?
Actions that have lack of common sense really disgust me. As I hear the news it seems like the majority of people suffer from this lack of common sense. Like we are unattached from reality and we live in this fantasy world where we are not allowed to think for ourselves, but follow the shenanigans that surround us through the media or the immediate culture that dominates our community. It’s not difficult to understand what’s right from wrong, but when trying to make such a decision we get blinded by what we want immediately instead of looking at the long-term repercussions. And such a concept applies to all ages and in all classes. This concept is what is destroying everything around us.
As for corporal punishment, I don’t condone it, but since so many people seem to be detached from reality I suggest that it not be used at all. Common sense is a detail that may soon become non-existent as we allow ourselves to be brain-washed by those who think are superior to us.
I have been asked what motivates me as a Latina and how can Latinos motivate themselves to be able to achieve those advanced degrees and be successful in their career. I dislike how this question is phrased. Yes, Latinos are the fastest growing demographic at the moment, but why must we associate or group such questions within a demographic. Any group that does not have knowledge, access, or resources will not grow as much as those who do know where those resources can be found. It is each individual’s responsibility to break out of their surroundings and self-educate and explore on what else it out there. Once a person breaks from their surroundings he/she should spread their findings to educate others. This is the only way a community can grow. This is the only way an individual can grow. This type of thinking is not only for Latinos, but for anyone who wants to become something more than what their environment is pointing to.
It’s extremely sad that because of current immigration issues and tensions/insecurities in the United States, which have grown due to terrorism and the recession, has limited or stalled people from breaking away from what they are used to. As a result, we have a large Latino community that is growing significantly and yet is afraid to step out of the door to attempt to live a normal or better life. Yet with all the chaos that surrounds us, I have grown up believing that even though I cannot stop the world from committing the unthinkable, as long as I do not fall prey to the world’s stupidity I can become successful.
No one can tell you what your limitations are but you. How successful you become or how far you get in reaching your goals depends on the drive and fight that you have. Yes, it may be hard at first, but it will be worth it. Ignorance and self-pity is definitely a disease. It runs among all groups of people and inhibits us from living that better quality of life that we all want to live. The idea of surviving on this planet though is to be able to step out of your group and view a bigger picture of the entire planet to not be held back by such a disease. Perhaps the politicians should view the world this way. Maybe they’ll be able to help more people this way instead of hurting us more than they already have. The world does not need more obstacles, especially when we each have our own self-sabotaging monster. For every individual, Latino or not, if you do not want to be another statistic within your group, I suggest you take a good look at yourself and fight for how you actually want to be defined instead of letting others define you. Then you will not be designated as another statistic.
Today’s Latina woman is definitely very different from past generations. The idea of being dependent on a man and the goal of bearing children to live a fulfilling life has been erased with the goal of becoming a strong, professional, and independent woman that has the strength and power to take on the universe on her own. As a result of this “new” way of thinking, which is growing among young Latina women, it seems that many of us are misunderstood in regards to who we are and what we actually want from life.
Even though our professional and philanthropic goals may take up a large portion of our time it is not our intention to be defined as women who do not want to be loved or would not like to have children in the future. In fact, we would like to not be defined at all. We are women who have learned that we are much capable of “just” getting married and serving our families as most of our mothers and grandmothers did. In addition, many of us saw how hard our parents worked to give us better lives. Both of my parents worked and as a result, since I was the oldest, I sacrificed my childhood to help raise my siblings. I started working at age 16 to help my parents pay bills and help with my own expenses, such as buying clothes and covering educational and extracurricular expenses.
From these experiences, I began to set in my mind that I did not want my children to live the same experiences as I. For each and every Latina woman, we have some type of experience, some type of hardship that motivates us to grow and move forward to become more educated and more prepared to not live those experiences and hardships that our parents lived. Some of us may not want to live like our mothers who perhaps were not treated very well by our fathers. As we go in and fight to become more educated we realize that there are other topics that we are very interested in. We then also become activists by helping our communities and joining organizations that have causes that we believe in. As Latinas we believe we can have stronger and safer communities if we become more involved.
On top of all of this, we also recognize that we must be healthy. Many of us squeeze in the time to work out and cook healthy meals for ourselves to have more energy and be fit. Our independence and success has allowed us to do this in the comfort of our own homes that we were able to purchase as a result of our success.
Yet, with all of this, with all our accomplishments, with all our capabilities we seem to have trouble in one area; the area of love. For many of us, we find ourselves in relationships where we don’t feel our intelligence, determination, and boldness are appreciated. Most Latino boyfriends that I have had don’t seem to value my dream big ideology and don’t take me seriously. Yet, by dreaming big is how I accomplished all of my goals so far.
It’s hard to be a Latina woman who loves to go out to dance on a Saturday night, can get up and go to church on a Sunday morning and have a family day, and yet be prepared for meetings for work and other organizations during the week. We socialize with so many different types of people and would like for our partners to do the same and also be supported in our accomplishments. Is it too much to ask for? Have we grown so much out of our traditional element that we have created a
completely different demographic that has yet to be understood by Latino men? I
don’t think so. We are a mixture of our traditional families who can make chilaquiles with the modern professional world and can also therefore be CEO’s of companies. We can go out and get dirty while playing sports, but can be gentle, beautiful, and sexy. We are multitasking, mutli-goaled women who wish to be supported and loved like anyone else, not segregated or pushed away for being strong. Our professionalism should not intimidate, on the contrary, it should be attractive. We can hold our own and be an actual partner in a relationship not just a follower.
I love that more and more woman are getting advanced degrees and
achieving their dreams. I guess my question is, when will Latino men learn to
accept that.
In an article on Yahoo! News, it stated that the Illinois poor population has increased from 2009 (13.2%) to 2010 (14.1%) and is expected to get worse. The only good news from this is that we are not the poorest state in the United States as Mississippi came in with a whopping 22.7% of its population being poor.
So what does this mean? As many analysts state that we are pulling out of the recession, I beg to differ. The job market has left college students wondering why they took on those large loans for a higher education and it has left those that have been laid off for years frustrated for not being able to bounce back on their feet. In addition, as Illinois’ (along with other states) and the federal government continue to struggle on paying back their enormous debts what can be said about the people they lead.
It’s almost sad to say this, but what comes up must come down. The United States has had some great years, but as a result of greedy people and just the plain fact that we lived life without preparing for bad times as a nation, we have began to fall so fast and for such a long time now that I am beginning to wonder if we will ever stop falling.
I guess the good thing to hear is that not all states are suffering as much as others. Therefore it gives a glimpse of hope that things will eventually be ok. New Hampshire had the lowest percentage of its poor population at 6.6%. Maybe the rest of the nation should take its business 101 smarts and benchmark themselves to what New Hampshire is doing.
Either way, at this point, Illinois has a long way to go to get back on its feet. As a nation we will probably not see any lights at the end of any tunnel until at least the fourth quarter ends since many companies have chosen to cut expenses and hold off on hiring to look better on their financial statements for the year. It’s always sad to understand that our very competitive and capitalist nation only nurture’s those that are already pretty well off since the goal is to satisfy the “bottom line”. Slowly we are eliminating the weak and making that pool much bigger. What is that starting to sound like?
You know how when you say to yourself that “things can’t get any worse” and almost instantly you hit lower than where you were formerly at? Well that’s exactly what happened to me this weekend. The crazy weather has definitely made my life more interesting. I spent Friday night with my whom I call my “work mom” and her daughter at my house. It was a great night filled with sushi, wine, a scary movie and awesome company. After they left I fell asleep on the couch with my two dogs. Around 2:30 am my almost 4 year old dog Zeus woke me up because of an insane thunderstorm. The lightening was pretty intense. It almost seem like someone was taking a million pictures with a super strong flash 30 times per second. I got up to give the dogs water and then fell back asleep on the couch. Ten minutes later my puppy wakes me up because I hear her running around in water. I was confused for a second. I thought my puppy who I call “Daisy the Destroyer” was playing in her pee since we are having some serious potty issues. I turn on the lamp and I see water rushing in from everywhere. I started to panic and put the dogs in the bath tub and looked for towels to cover the doorways. I began to cry like a little girl as I ran around disconnecting all the electronics and throwing as much stuff as I could on the tables and bed. I tried calling my parents, but it is impossible to get in touch with them, so I called my aunt.
By that time the water was half way up my calves it smelled like it was burning. So I rushed out, or at least I tried, carrying my puppy and pulling my 67lbs dog out of the apartment. All I can think about was the water rushing in through the back door and the closet. I cried as I regretted canceling my home insurance to keep up with other bills. I freaked out how much the damage would cost me and the difficulty of getting the money for it. I cried as I dragged my scared dogs out of the house for being too busy to hold a relationship. At least I would I have some type of emotional support if someone was sleeping there with me.
I called 911 because of the burning smell. I wanted to at least avoid having the building catch on fire. I waited 15 minutes for the fire men to come so they can only tell me that they were sorry. My aunt made it to my house a few minutes after the fire men left. I ran outside with my dogs; the water was almost up to my knees out in the parking lot. As we drove to my aunt’s house it look like we were driving through a lake. Cars were stopped everywhere. Water was rushing in from everywhere and swirling around. It was pretty insane.
The next morning my uncle drove me back home. All the streets were back to normal as if nothing had happened. The Desplaines River though looked like it wanted to burst out of its bank again. As I drove through the parking lot where my condo was located people were cleaning out their houses. 9 other units reported damage due to the floods before me. The main reason was because the drains were clogged with debris. The person who runs the maintenance on all the buildings in the area answered me in a very frustrated and angry tone when I came to report the damage.
I feel that living in a condo where I must pay monthly assessments makes the association liable for the damages since they are responsible for all maintenance outside of the buildings, but I kept my mouth shut as they advised that nothing could be done until Monday, which by the way it is now Tuesday and nothing has been done yet.
So my question is, should I begin to clean and start the repairs to avoid further damage to my home or should I wait until the association gets its act together to assess the damage? Should I increase my debt to start the repairs or should I attempt to fundraise to help not only myself, but all the families affected in this small area. Never in my wildest nightmares did I ever think that life would have so many obstacles. I hope that as I continue to push through life will begin to get a little easier.
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