Out & About Town: North Lawndale

I've purchased and purused various touristy types of books about Chicago that emphasize walking our neighborhoods to actually understand and appreciate them. I took that opportunity tonight when I visited North Lawndale as part of my Junior League of Chicago placement in Project CON:CERN. Our project involves assisting a community organization with developing a volunteer management plan, focusing on recruiting, training, retention, and appreciation efforts.

At about 5:20, I boarded a Forest Park bound CTA Blue Line train at the Jackson stop, heading to the Pulaski station. I narrowly missed the #53 Southbound bus, so I began to walk in the waning daylight toward my destination. I walked past a high school, a large handful of empty lots, some buildings that look like they should be condemned, a funeral home, a few convenience stores, and a few hair salons, including one that looked like it had recently been redone. I was extremely aware of my surroundings, recognizing that crimes can happen anywhere in this city, as highlighted by the latest rash of robbery and assault cases in Lincoln Park. What I did see was extreme poverty, with too many people lacking a proper winter coat (hopefully they were simply underestimating the continuing downspiral in our temperatures) as well as commercial activity. I think that there may have been a grocery store on one of the cross streets with Pulaski, but I'd bet this neighborhood is considered to be a food desert. Our agency contact admitted there are racial issues in the high schools between the Latino and African-American populations, tensions that are rising as the number of Latinos rises in South Lawndale, which the white residents created as a concerted effort about forty years ago to be referred to as Little Village.

So many thoughts swirled as I walked and on my way back into the Loop. First, I thought about St Vincent DePaul's insistence that we not only serve the poor, but also know the poor. I am so blessed to have undertaken this degree program at DePaul -- it is truly challenge to serve at a greater capacity, with a deeper sense of humanity and dignity, and a new development of self. Second, I considered the topics we discussed last week in Ethical Leadership -- how do we address racial issues unless we are willing to name them? Is the state of racial politics actually better or is it just more insiduous? And have we given up on the duty to create equality, instead blaming groups for not moving quickly enough, despite the lack of resources? Unfortunately, my walk did not provide me with any great deep insights, but it did provide me with a wider understanding of my home. Oh, Chicago, how I adore thee!

Antenuptial agreements

One of the fun ironies from my fascination with family law is that originally prenuptial agreements were called antenuptial agreements. Makes sense when you see it spelled, not so much when you say it aloud. So the Love Lawyer talked about the other kind of agreement -- the cohabitation agreement. Also advised for anyone not married that care to purchase property together :-)

Chicago -- Illinois' Largest College Town

No one should be surprised that there are more students in Chicago's Loop/South Loop than anywhere else in this state. After all, per the Chicago Sun-Times there are 25 different institutions of higher education right here. And I proudly work here in the Loop for the largest Catholic university in the country -- DePaul. But as a reminder, nothing I say in this blog in any way represents the viewpoints or positions of DePaul!

Censoring & the Kindle

This blog post made me sigh. It made me think about why I believe it is okay for parents to go through your room -- I don't want anyone legislating what I or my (imaginary) kids should read, watch, or say. However, that doesn't mean that everything is age appropriate so though I don't think Mom rifled through my room very often, I fully recognize that she was responsible for my well-being (BTW, thanks for that Mom). But this whole Kindle business makes me also consider all the ways our government and corporate America have promised one thing, and given us something completely different (ex: broken treaties, corruption, ignored privacy agreements). If only we'd all be better about keeping our promises. Don't worry, Michael, I promise I'm looking at the woman in the mirror first. And thank you sweet Jesus for my Chicago Public Library card.

Win a $600 shopping spree from Alice.com!

My worst shopping experience was one of those post-Thanksgiving rushes. I’d just moved to Chicago, but was home for the weekend in Nebraska with my family. I needed a new winter coat that I could run in so we headed to the great deal on Columbia jackets near my mother’s home. I realize that people take the post-Thanksgiving thing seriously (I’ve worked as an Assistant Store Manager at a big box retailer), but I couldn’t believe the woman in front of us that was SCREAMING at the clerk because the color and size she wanted were no longer there. This was especially appalling because it was already 11 a.m. — what did she expect? That’s really late for one of these mornings! I felt horrible for the clerk and ended up finding a security guard to help escort this raving lunatic out of the store. I’ve rarely been so ashamed of my fellow human beings before.

http://twitter.com/scarletncream/status/2207420542

Banned Books

Little in this world burns me up more than banned books. I know it is easy to cast stones when I don't have kids of my own that I'm trying to watch, but my parents made financial sacrifices to ensure that we were supervised. Let me tell you -- my mom definitely knew when I started to read Danielle Steele books and quickly put the kibosh on that. But guess what else she did? She explained to me why she thought those books weren't age appropriate for me. And when I did start reading them, she was hardly surprised that I thought most of them were stupid and boring. Though that still doesn't stop either of us from reading her stuff every few years when we need a beach read.

Free TP for a year!

I know I've talked about Alice before -- usually in my attempts to win things. Well, I'll admit I'm doing it again: I want free TP for year! I need free TP for a year because I live semi-communally (a large apartment building). One of my neighbors recently had their apartment broken into and the (allegedly) the perpetrator committed arson (wasn't in the perp's MO -- he had already confessed to the break-in). Well, at 1:30 a.m. on that Saturday night, we were woken by someone knocking on doors as that apartment's smoke alarm beeped. The fire department broke down the door, woke us all up, and then stayed speaking loudly in the hall for a few hours. Well, I don't want to shout "Oh, sheet!" (or something less decorous) at 1:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning and awaken my neighbors. Though at least it would probably be so quick, they'd never what had awakened them in the first place. Either way, I deserve free TP for a year because I don't want to awaken myself more than I need to just to fumble for more TP or worse yet, start looking for the tissues.

Positive Addictions

My job isn't always fun and this rough economy isn't making it any easier. This blog post made me think about the things I wouldn't want to give up -- my faith, my loving family, my supportive friends, Ben & Jerry's ice cream, apples, and my cell phone. But are any of those positive addictions? Beyond the first two, no. So my new goal: become addicted to working out again. Or as I read in SELF magazine once, though you may not LOVE working out, LOVE the way it makes you feel.

Lessons from Obama's Speech at ND

So lots of blogging is going on reflecting on Obama's speech at Notre Dame. The biggest one I take from it is this: we are a diverse Church, and this provided us an opportunity to show that diversity, and our ability to be not only civil with each other but admit that we are members of a community larger than ourselves. This was confirmed by a friend who remarked that he had never realized how conservative or liberal some Catholics could be. I should invite him to my brother's wedding -- meet my family, and you'll see that diversity pretty well amongst all sides.

Here are some other interesting takes from the blogosphere and internet articles:

• Eboo Patel's Obama a Champion at Notre Dame
• Russ Shaw's Obama at ND: Three Lessons
• Aaron Zelinsky's Echoes of the Bible: Obama's Notre Dame Address
• Joshua Rhett Miller's Some Complaints That Opposition Politicians Scarce at Notre Dame Protests

See, I do read Fox News!

Late Night Last Call Jalapeno Poppers - from Doritos!

A couple of weeks ago, I saw this Doritos bag hanging from the end of an aisle at the Walgreens across from work (State & Jackson, southwest corner). Okay, aren't Doritos a late night (and other) munchie treat anyway? Much less do you really need it market what would generally be either an appetizer or snack plucked from the frozen food section -- jalapeno poppers -- as a new Doritos flavor? Admittedly, I've never been a HUGE Doritos fan, but I can only imagine what a bad idea this flavor, especially ingested as a 'Late Night Last Call' would be!

A little obsessed with Alice. . .

I used to be a horrible compulsive shopper. In the time since I've moved to Chicago, it has lessened because I have to be able to carry it all home. Which is why I love Alice -- I want stuff delivered to me, no shopping or compulsive purchases! And I'll be able to order toilet paper before I run out of it! As an Alice Twitter follower and blog reader, I'm hooked! I love the item pairings -- even the ones I'd never use (may I never own a car every again). I'm very eager to see what eco-friendly lines they'll be carrying. I love independent organizations, like Indigo Wild! (their laundry soap ROCKS!) and Method -- especially in conjunction with my new euro cleaner which completely makes me happy to use less chemicals!

And one more reason to love the Alice blog: they do fun giveaways! Check out the latest on AquaNotes -- I've decided I need two so that I can have a work list and an "other" list set. For example, this morning's shower included thoughts on: Father's Day gifts, programming ideas for work, my "to do" list (buy wedding card, new shoes and dress for wedding, and something else I've already forgotten).

This one goes out to Matty. . .

Matty, I'm sorry for using California taxpayer dollars to rant about education being a human right issue. Really, I am. But I'm wondering that EJ Dionne is right: will this Obama/ND debate will continue to motivate "moderate and liberal Catholics to fight back"? In response to some of Dionne's rhetoric, this is an interesting view of the use of the term "the Vatican" and Pope Pius IX's crown of thorns for Jefferson Davis. What role do we really want the Pope to play in American, or anyone else's, national politics? Consider Senator John Danforth's Faith and Politics: How the "Moral Values" Debate Divides America and How to Move Forward Together and President Jimmy Carter's Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis on these topics.

3/50 Proposition

I loved this 3/50 article from Idealist today -- it talks about the importance of supporting locally-owned retail outlets. More of their funds end up back in the local economy (think of the intercorporate tax loops that President Obama has vowed to close), and we can probably all pick 3 easily. Of course, it still takes some effort to think out budgeting $150 per month at these places but maybe it just means taking a look at where you'd buy your meat or produce differently this month (my Hyde Park Produce Market here in Chicago or Just Good Meats or Stoysich in Omaha) or a new way to exercise with the family with a trip to a local farmer's market.

Adventures in the Internets

Both personally and professionally, I've been experimenting with various new "internets" technology. Yes, I use plural purposefully, as I am beginning to utilize various mobile websites, my favorite being the CTA Bustracker. This led me to start following the blog, the CTA Tattler which includes news of that which has been "seen and heard on the Chicago Transit Authority." It is a bit of fun that I love to read, as it provides glimpses into local politics, opinions, and the plain crazy things people see and do on my new hometown's public transportation. Though my CTA Bustracker obsession is closely followed by closely followed by my love of Goodreads to remind myself of books I wanted to check out from the Chicago Public Library (seriously, so many books, so little time).

More significantly, I've also begun to experiment with ways to merge all my technologies together. I use my Twitter account to feed my Facebook updates which also feeds into this blog (this came in very handy when I was in Memorial Stadium this past weekend for the Red/White Spring Game). I'm perfecting my preferences for how to send tasks to my Remember the Milk account (a perpetual "to do list" and project management gem my colleague Vic shared with us at the NALP Annual Conference). For fun, I've added a widget that feeds news on my neighborhood from Your Street into this blog too. And I've begun to more aggressively use the Reader application in my gmail account to track all my RSS feeds from various blogs, but I'm still struggling with how to add Google Mobile to my phone. Ah, all in good time!

Vacuuming Stories

So, I'm a bit of a sucker for a good contest. Today, the Alice blog is giving us the opportunity to share our best "vacuum story." I hate vacuuming. No, really, I'd rather scrub the floor. Oddly enough though, my vaccuum is nearly as old as I am (I am 30+) and was owned by my Aunt Angie and given to me when I was in law school and needed one for my first apartment. Since then, it has travelled to five more apartments and three more states. I'll have to let my aunt know that it has been so well traveled and loved through the years. It has great suck-it-all up power!! But nonetheless, now that I live in such an urban city where space is certainly at a high premium, I'd love to own a Roomba and get rid of my loud, clunky vacuum.

P.S. Happy Birthday Kari! As always, great to chat with you & I am glad to hear that your boys took care of you today. For more fun, check out Alice - they're promising to revolutionize the way we shop :-) Even better, check out their blog, which is fun, fresh, and thought provoking!

Cathedrals & Lent

I attended mass at the Cathedral of St Matthew the Apostle in the Archdioce of Washington for the Palm Sunday Vigil tonight. It was a magnicient building, made with all sorts of marbles, shaped in a Latin Cross, and was the fourth Roman Catholic parish established in the District. The Byzantine touches to the decor were a bit over the top for my aesthetic taste but I did love the use of the Greek cross, which always bring me to my personal favorites, Celtic crosses.

Reading the passion today brought me back to that Palm Sunday spent in Spain, when we heard in spoken in Euskeran. That mass twelve years ago, with Saul and Benjamin, brought me a sense of peace as I realized that even though I could not understand a single spoken word, Roman Catholics around the world were celebrating the same reading of the passion. It was a moment of complete peace, a moment of communion with my fellow Roman Catholics.

Which contrasted to my sense during today's mass. Today's homily highlighted the need to focus this last week of Lent on the sacrifce of Christ and the Father, especially the lonely parts of sacrifice. To everything there is a season, and though we will celebrate the rising of Christ next week, first we must focus on what we must we give up and build within ourselves to truly be in communion with each other, Roman Catholic or no.

I'm leaving on a jet plane. . .

. . .or actually, I've already arrived from that jet plane ride. I'm in DC for the Annual NALP Conference, where I am serving as guest blogger for the week. Check out my first entry to learn more about NALP and why I am so proud to be a member.