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Archive for December 28th, 2009

Day 14 – Davitia

Posted in Transportation, tagged , , , , , , on December 28, 2009| 1 Comment »

Today was a mixed bag.  Several positive things happened, but also some frustrating setbacks.

I have been battling with unemployment.  For some reason they have not paid me a dime since I filed back in September.  I have sent letters, emails, called them, all to no avail.  So, finally I decided to trek over to the closest center that they have which is on Rhode Island Avenue in NE.  I get over there and wait in line to get to the front desk only to find that they stopped letting new people in 11 minutes earlier.  So, once again, I am shot down by the unemployment office.  I will be back tomorrow or Wednesday at 8:30 am to guarantee that I get to speak to someone.

On the positive side, I got two updates from previous recipients of the Year of Giving and I heard back from two different organizations with whom I have been interviewing.  The updates were from Davie (Day 5) and Jenny (day 13).  Davie is doing well.  He used the $10 toward a bus ticket to NYC and is doing well there.  He still plans to come back to DC in January.  He was very gracious for the gift and even offered to do something in return, however, he said he wasn’t sure what that would be but said he was really good at giving mohawk, chelsea, undercut, etc. style haircuts.  Not sure how I would look with one of those, but who knows! 

You might have also seen that Jenny posted a comment.  She promises to keep us posted on her journey during the Year of Giving.

So on my way home from the failed Unemployment Office visit, I stopped at the Giant at the Rhode Island / Brentwood Metro station.  On my way out I saw a woman with a cart full of groceries waiting for someone to pick her up.  Davitia, a 32 year-old resident of NW, is a Home Health Aid.  She visits people, mostly elderly, in their homes and helps them with some of their basic routine items.  She is very kind and I am sure she brightens the day of the people that she serves. 

I got a chuckle from the response Davitia gave when I asked if she would accept the $10.  She snapped her neck back slightly and said something like, “Heck yeah!”  She smiled and I gave her the $10.  She said that the money would probably go to her Metro SmarTrip card.  Interesting that Jenny said the same thing yesterday.

I asked Davitia what she had purchased and she had the usual things to feed her family.  She has three children, so you can imagine the amount of food they go through to fill their growing bellies.  I was glad to meet Davitia…she brightened my day.

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Day 13 – Jenny

Posted in Transportation, tagged , , , , on December 28, 2009| 8 Comments »

I ended up putting off my giving today until late tonight.  I traveled back from Pennsylvania, went to my theatre rehearsal, and then made it downtown to my place and unloaded my car with my bags and Christmas gifts.  I dumped everything just inside the door and then grabbed my little notebook and $10 and went out to find somebody at about 10:30 pm.

When it’s late, I prefer to find people inside or near well-lit areas; otherwise people are often reluctant to talk.  I decided to head over to Kramerbooks.  It’s open late, it is an excellent place, and I thought I would find someone interesting there.  I meandered through the book-lined labyrinth inside but did not find anyone that I really felt like approaching.  Then I spotted a woman outside peering through the front window.

Jenny, a 26 year-old recent masters recipient in the area of public health, was waiting for the 42 bus.  She was inquisitive about what I was doing, however, agreed to participate rather quickly.  I gave her the $10 and asked her what she planned to do with it.  She said that all her money was earmarked for bills, rent, etc.  She had about $13 of spending money to her name.  Now she had $23.  She said she would initially hold on to the money until Wednesday when she started a waitressing job.  She needs to have a “bank” of $30 in cash to make change.  Once she gets some money from the job, she said she would use the money to add to her Metro card to help her get to/from work. 

Her professional goal is to find a job in global public health.  Maybe something with USAID, etc.  Those jobs are hard to come by according to her.  I think she has a good shot though, as she has a solid education and already done work in Africa in the public health field.  So if anyone out there can help Jenny out or give her some tips on getting a job in this field, leave a comment, I know she would appreciate it.

As we started to depart, I asked her to check out the blog and keep us posted on how her new job goes as well as her job search for a career in global public health.

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