Finale

Well, by Wednesday I was too excited about taking a small Thanksgiving break from the semester that the last thing I wanted to see was a computer. Thursday again there were clearly way better things to do. Finishing out this series seems a bit anti-climactic now that it's officially the holiday season, BUT I'll send this off right. I do think it's helped a tad; I'm still quite worrisome but occasionally I've been comforted by thinking about what I have to be grateful for. Here are some overarching ones that I am always thankful for.

Thomas, our apartment, our kittens, and my life in the city
having transferred to UIC
incredibly wonderful parents, the kind who call their vegetarian daughter the night before Thanksgiving and ask "would you like me to bring you a spaghetti squash?"
my grandparents' house
that many of my really great friends wound up in the same city and that those in other places are still just as great of friends

Day 13

This morning I woke up planning to run before work. This is probably the 12th time I've planned this since I started running again in September, and I've never accomplished it. Today I did! As soon as I got out the door it was rainy and cold and I resigned myself to giving up after a mile. But I didn't! And then I got to work and wasn't bored all day because there was actually plenty for me to do. And then Thomas and I went out for a lovely dinner. And then I ate too many cookies.

Today I am thankful for:
getting my butt out of bed
days at work when I can listen to my ipod and mindlessly enter data
my thoughtful mommy (who is making me spaghetti squash for Thanksgiving)
yummy Thai food
tea

Day 12

Today was interesting. I got up to go to my internship, and halfway to the train I realized that Thomas had borrowed my UPass yesterday and I had forgotten to get it back. I decided withdraw some money from the ATM; since that would require walking back in the opposite direction, I decided to take the bus and transfer to a train rather than my usual route. Then I realized I'd have to pay twice as much for the transfer, and decided just to double back and go to the original train route. I got to the ATM and first had to transfer money to the right account via Chase Mobile, but logged on and found out that the service was unavailable. I went home and gathered up the change in our coin jar and there was enough to get to the work but not to make it home.

So I resigned myself to calling in.

Luckily my class tomorrow was cancelled so I'll just make up my hours then.

I spent the day getting a lot of homework done and finished a final paper (which means I'm totally done with 2 of 4 classes!).

Funny how things work out.

Today I'm grateful:
for a very generous and kind boss
for discovering that i like split pea soup! vegan and lots of protein.
that my class is cancelled tomorrow
that all the people who thought the new experimental poverty measure would prove that poverty isn't as big a deal as bleeding hearts make it out to be were proven wrong and it's actually worse than we thought (not that I'm grateful for more poverty, I'm grateful that there's more evidence that something needs to be done). check it http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/08/us/poverty-gets-new-measure-at-census-bureau.html

Day 11

Today I am thankful:

for pumpkin candles
for homemade pizza co
that I can write a good paper
that i dont own a car in the city

Day 10

Hittin' this one early!

Today I am thankful for:
a working oven
my penchant for picking out good Christmas presents
professors who don't actually read final papers (though I shouldn't be)
when things that were once stressful end up working out okay

Days 7, 8, 9

Right, so I still haven't gotten the hang of this. The following will be a mish mash of the last three days.

I am thankful for:
vacations
kittens on my lap
biscuits in soup
my parka
samples at whole foods

Day 6

Today I'm thankful for:

Afternoon naps with my cats
Perfect fall days
Perfect fall day runs
My nifty key chain that makes taking individual keys on and off extremely easy

Day 5

Today I am thankful for:

Being ahead of schedule
Taking time out to watch The Wonder Years on Instant Netflix
When things go as planned

Days 3 & 4

Forgot yesterday again. Alas, it takes 30 days to make a habit. Or is it 28?

Yesterday:
Productivity
Accomplishing my running goals
Good sushi

Today:
Sleeping in
Salted caramel hot chocolate
Avoiding buyer's remorse
The lack of traffic on Sunday mornings

Day 2

I forgot yesterday! Busy, busy, busy.

I'm thankful for:

having things to do at my internship.
meeting new and interesting people.
friendly bus drivers.

The 14 days of Thanksgiving

For the next 2 weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, I will post a list of things I am thankful for that are of particular relevance for that day. I am stressed out about not having enough time or money, and hope this will make me feel better.

Today I am thankful for:

Catching the bus just in time (twice!)
Having ample outerwear options
The occasional packet of Nutter Butters
People who aren't afraid to disagree with someone just because the latter someone seems to have more authority

Ta-da.

Social work pessimism.

I often get frustrated with the idea that anything is achievable with hard work. I understand this thinking has diminished a bit with the recession because people understand that bad circumstances can befall any of us, and it's not due to individual failure. However there is still the presumption that each of us has the power to change our own circumstances. We need to set goals and never give up. Look at all those people born into poverty who are now lawmakers and educators. The Colin Powell argument. This is a hard thing to argue against, because it really does sound logical. Just keep at it and eventually it will come your way. If it doesn't, you didn't try hard enough. Many people who think this are well-meaning - teachers trying to instill hope in their students, activists trying to inspire a community.

Unfortunately, they're wrong.

And this is the best quote I've found to summarize it (and believe me, as a social work student I've read a lot on this.

"It is a false hope informed by privilege and rooted in the optimism of the spectator who needs not suffer—a “let them eat cake” utterance that reveals a fundamental incomprehension of suffering."

Not to say the sufferers or the people trying to help empower them should give up. But there are other things that need to be changed before we can assume that all people have the same chances for success. This country is as far from equality as it gets.

A Christmas card teaser.