Adventures with Dr. Lady Cutie Troublemaker

So I whined a little online and then ended up having the most wonderful weekend. We had all these plans that fell through last week, which kind of sucked, but it all turned around. We went to the Common yesterday for this pumpkin thing. Of course, it rained, as it always does whenever we go outside. We trecked there, saw some pumpkins, then hopped a train to Cambridge and got some grub and Mr and Mrs Bartley’s by the Harvard Book Store. Love that place. After that, we walked to Steve and Linda’s house, where we played Sudoku and drank a few beers, played with the kiddies, talked, and Aaron and Linda made this FABULOUS chicken pot pie. When I’m feeling less lazy, I’ll post a picture. SOOOO good. After that, Aaron made peanut butter cookies. YUM! We actually made contact with Scott and Michelle, two of my very favorite people from grad school. They had been out of town a lot, and the excellent news is that they don’t hate us. Yay! We met them for breakfast in Slumma-ville at the tastiest place EVAR. After that, we had a fine time at Target and got groceries. Oh, and we got to pass over the Charles a few times. We spotted a few boats out for the Head of the Charles. Fun times.

I’ve been writing reports for few the last few hours. LAME! I’m so sick of reports it’s insane, but what are you gonna do? Report-writing is my bag, baby. Now it’s time for Desperate Housewives. Another busy work week looms, but I’m going to trivia, AND my parents are coming, so it’s gonna be fun times. Wahoo! Shit! Forgot to call Carl back. I suck these days. I really do. If I haven’t called, it’s not hatred. It really isn’t. It’s the work! Hard and exhausting, yet rewarding. Better than having no purpose, I guess.

Aaron works at home. I wake up at 6am, leave the house by 7:45am, and have to start getting ready for bed at 9:30pm (I putter in the morning and at night. I can’t help myself. No meds are active at the ends of the day to get me focused.) We think that we are both very fun, but we’re dying to hang out with other people. That said, it’s a real struggle. We are new in town. I know several people, but so far, not much is working out socially. We see Steve and Linda and their two kids regularly, which is so saving us right now. We have invited one couple out so many times that to call any more would border on the ridiculous – they are two of my favorite people in the world, but alas, they are hermits. The peeps down the street are wonderful, but they have busy lives. It’s just really hard to meet people who are social and interested in hanging out at the times we’re able. Without free time and connections, it’s hard to forge friendships. It’s a puzzle, even for me. I’m typically able to make friends with a wall – I’m the pro. But not when I’m working so hard. These days, I’m lucky to get enough time to check my e-mail at all between 8 and 5. Such is life, I guess. Being a grownup is hard!

I don’t have a lot of money to give, and I’ve really been trying to eliminate my credit card debt, but I think that helping Katrina evacuees is more important. I found Charity Navigator: Your Guide to Intelligent Giving very helpful. This article lists all of the 4-star rated charities involved in Katrina relief efforts. I think I’ve decided to give to:

• The Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank and
• The MSPCA Natural Disaster Relief Fund

(which, as it turns out, is right in my neighborhood!)

Where are you donating your money?

I read on the cover of a local paper today that people in Boston have set up all these shelters, but they haven’t had any people arrive yet because so many evacuees are reticent to leave the region. Makes sense, but I hadn’t thought of that. I can see why they would feel that way. I feel bad just having moved away. I feel I should be closer, helping out.

My alma mater is accepting students who have been displaced by the hurricane. I was reading last week about how schools in Boston are donating laptops, and it seemed somehow silly to prioritize such things when many have lost families and their lives. Still, there are people from all walks of life who are now homeless: poor, wealthy, educated, and uneducated. My ex’s new significant other had just received a tenure-track position teaching at the University of New Orleans. It’s hard to prioritize when there are people in need at every level. I look at people like myself, people like the people I worked with in Memphis, and all the animals. I don’t want to forget the poor, but in remembering the poor, I don’t want to forget the middle class who are also homeless, the sick, the young, the elderly, the recently orphaned. And while I remember all of those people in need, I don’t want to forget the people who were more directly affected by the hurricane itself in Mississippi. Triage in a situation like this is nearly impossible. It’s overwhelming. When it comes down to it, though, there are so many people who do not have other means of support. They need their government. They need us. Help your family. Help those who can’t help themselves. Give, give, give. If everyone helps in some way, maybe we can eventually get things closer to right again.

"Finally, America will have to get over the shock of seeing itself in a new, unflattering light."

– from The Guardian 

I’m not shocked. After a year working on the front lines in Memphis, I am not shocked. I imagine that very few of the Midtowners or fellow-interns I met this past year would be shocked in the least. We have let our poor down. I have been trying to recall the quote which states that the measure of govertnment is how it treats its poor. We have failed. 

Last night I met a woman who was talking about her personal trainer who she’d hired for $70 per session. A few minutes later, we discussed the 2,000 people from New Orleans being brought to Boston to stay in the Fleet Center. This woman wasn’t sure she was comfortable having these people come to her city. I did not punch her in the face.