Oh, I’m just saving the world

The week started with me going to Immigration Court early Monday morning to translate for a U-Visa interview. U-Visas are a way to a green card for people who have been victims of crimes, especially domestic violence. I was not involved with her application at all but it would have involved submitting evidence of her abuse – including an order of protection, a police report, and proof that she was working with the courts to prosecute her abuser. It turned out that her interviewer spoke Spanish (there is never a guarantee of this and Immigration Court tells you to bring someone to interpret for you) so I did not have to sit in on her interview. But, she came out in ten minutes and told me she was approved! I had no idea that a) the interview could be over that fast or b) that they could tell you in the interview that you were approved. But, it was a great way to start the week.

On Thursday, my coworker Kerry and I each presented grant proposals to separate committees (based on where our clients live) for clients to get money from the Department of Children and Family Services. DCFS sets aside a certain amount of money for children at risk for truancy or suspension or falling behind academically. My client had just moved with her four daughters from Cicero to Chicago and needed all new sets of uniforms and school supplies. I tried to get a computer but was unsuccessful. I am still getting them a bunch of money and it will even cover new winter coats. Kerry also got a grant for a client and they even offered her more money than she asked for, because she had not asked for a winter coat for her client and now they are giving her the money for one. Kerry’s client lives in our area so the meeting was actually in our building Thursday morning so I got to see her present her proposal before I went North to present mine. I told the person in charge of the money in our area where I was going and she  said “Oh, they’re really intimidating up there, their area is so much bigger…oh but you’ll do great!” And I did pretty well.

We had a couple of dinner guests this week. Beth, an Amate alum who lived with Jessie in South House last year came over on Monday and Becky, the Amate development coordinator and her fiancé came over on Tuesday. It was great to meet them and offer hospitality, although our house was a mess because we had just collected a bunch of things we want to donate and they were in bags and boxes in our living room. I’m actually taking them tomorrow to a second-hand clothing store where we send people with vouchers from Taller for free clothes. So, they’ve been there for a while but we’ve just been so busy! On Saturday I went with Michelle to the local branch of the library for five hours while we worked on grad school stuff. I mostly worked on personal statements and made a lot of progress. Now I need to work on the Illinois Basic Skills Test so I can concentrate in School Social Work. You have to pass the test before you can become certified to work in schools in Illinois, and the certification I would get works in a few more states. Oh, but I became an Illinois resident on Tuesday, so I guess I’ll stay here for a while.

LOVE

1 tupperware leftover white rice (let’s say six cups cooked)

3 bags mixed vegetables (Kroger brand fiesta mix, California mixed and vegetable gumbo—10 for $10!)

Half jar sweet and sour sauce

Sprinkle of hot chili sauce

Pour water on rice and microwave. Place vegetables on heat with some water. Set aside a few vegetables for Michelle who does not like sweet and sour sauce (or soy, or teriyaki…). Add sauce for everyone else. Cook until the water boils off. Serve with lemon juice and sweet and sour sauce for people to season at will.

Grocery List, Week of October 17

3 bags tortilla chips

1 bag raisins

2 boxes granola bars

12-pack toilet paper

32 oz container plain yogurt

28 oz can diced tomatoes

4 family size cans tomato soup

1 pack American cheese

2 boxes Corn Bitz cereal (like Chex)

1 honey bear

1 gallon orange juice

3 cans tuna

1 can corn

2  32-oz bags of Honey Toasted Os (like Honey Nut Cheerios)

4 boxes pasta ( a few varieties)

Package chicken tenderloins

Dozen eggs

2 cans enchilada sauce

Parmesan cheese

Package mini marshmallows

3 bags Nacho and Taco blend cheese

Cooking spray

Gallon of salsa

4 lbs dried black beans

3 packages flour tortillas

5 lbs white rice

2.64 lbs green beans

2 bunches cilantro

8 pounds bananas

3 pounds red delicious apples

5 pounds gala apples

4 pounds Valencia oranges

1.5 pounds tangerines

5 loaves wheat bread (on special)

5 pounds carrots

1.5 pounds roma tomatoes

Ranch dressing

2 loaves French bread

2 frozen pizzas

4 green bell peppers

1 mixed box oatmeal

And the grand total came to….take a guess!

Is this real life?

This week I worked for 3 ½ days. On Monday, in honor of Columbus Day (but perhaps more because most Catholic Schools aren’t open on Columbus Day) Amate had its Fall In-Service. I talked about that in my last entry, though. On Tuesday, I had a really long day, though. I got to work at 8:00 to meet a client and go to the Daley Center to meet with her lawyer, whom I have nicknamed demon lawyer because she’s so terribly rude. She refused to even talk to me because I do not have a law degree. She even complained that I was in court to the judge, because she thought I was a school social worker. Maybe if she had given me the chance to even introduce myself and explain why I was in court that day, she would have been more understanding, nicer to the client and nicer to me. But then again, perhaps not. The client did really well and stood up for herself when her lawyer was walking all over her. The lawyer of course thought this meant I was giving the client legal advice but she and I both tried to make it clear that was not happening. When I got back I saw a few walk-ins, on Tuesdays we are in the office until 7:00.

On Wednesday I was planning on going to Zemsky’s, a local clothing store that specializes in uniforms, to price some uniforms for a grant I’m writing for a client. It was raining pretty hard and it was likely that I would have to walk to the store, so I put that off until Thursday, when we wouldn’t have clients anyway. I did and they were super nice there, they let me put the clothes on hold indefinitely until I get the grant, which I should hopefully be presenting on Thursday, if one of the school counselors ever gives me the information I need. But other than that, things are calmer at work this week because I didn’t have to worry about the furniture drive anymore. Next week, Sr Kathy and I are going to lunch with the woman that organized the drive on the other end to talk about what we should do differently. On Friday I was only supposed to work until noon. I spent the morning at St Agnes with the Fussy Baby group because Kerry had an accompaniment. Then I went back to the office (arriving around noon) and actually saw a couple of clients (people that are usually quick) and left around 1:15. We did some quick errands and then loaded up the cars and hit the road.

Our retreat was in Watervliet, MI, which is not far from I-94 and Paw Paw Lake, if that means anything to people. It was very pretty there and nice and sunny so we could be outside. We took a skills assessment test from Gallup before we went and so the retreat was about developing our skills and using them in our community. My five skills are Empathy, Input, Connectedness, Harmony and Responsibility. I’m the only one in the house with responsibility in their top five so it’s probably a good thing I handle the cash. We had a lot of free time on the retreat and ate a lot of junk food, so I don’t know when I’ll be able to eat again. Probably at dinner time, we’re having grilled cheese and tomato soup. I’m cooking tomorrow, making pesto out of cilantro (a recipe from  Ann K’s family, it’s so good) so I’ll probably post about it later in the week. Pay attention, Steph, you can use it in your entertaining.

As we were entering Chicago (Chicago is a very long city so it takes a while to do this) Ann K gave us some riddles. One was “A man pulls his car up to a hotel and realizes he’s bankrupt. How?” Want a hint? It’s not real life.  

Pasta Surprise

Tonight I cooked with Elissa. We only had to buy one can of vegetables!
1 large box twisty pasta noodles (provided by Little Brothers)
1 can stir-fry vegetables (provided by Little Brothers)
1 can pasta sauce (leftover)
1 can mixed vegetables
1 bag questionable mexican orange round noodles
2 small yellow onions
spices

We carmelized the onions with spices and added in the vegetables. once they were mixed and heated, we put them in a pot with the sauce. In a separate pot, we boiled the noodles. We were worried that it would not be enough food (even though it is simplicity week) so we added in noodles that came with our house. they were strange (orange wheels) and fell apart but they served our purposes well.

Wild and Crazy

Things are getting hectic here in Lil Vil. I have been having a hard time remembering to journal and then when I try to catch up, I can’t remember what has been going on all week. And my journal is the only thing that helps me remember what has happened in the past week so I can write blog entries. I have been seeing tons of walk-ins—I can barely keep track of them all. It is the time of year that everyone needs financial assistance—there was a cold snap at the end of last week and the beginning of this week and people got worried about their gas. Also, a lot of people are starting to worry about rent and such. The beginning of the school year offered them a distraction because things were so busy then but now things are becoming more urgent. One of our struggles is that we tend to see clients who are in too deep. It makes sense, no one wants to ask for help and coming to a church (or old convent building next to a church) is seen as a last resort. This sometimes means we can do little for people.  Fortunately, we have a great resource in Catholic Charities. Because we are next to a church, we have access to the Parish Line so we can call and refer clients for financial assistance. If you are ever asked to donate to Catholic Charities, definitely do because they are truly helping people in need.

Some highlights of the work week include glaring at the middle-aged man who took out his gum and put it on my desk (he promptly removed it) and going to a meeting where I was one of two people not born in Mexico, the other being a priest. Granted, that meeting was at the Mexican Consulate and conducted entirely in Spanish. I knew what they were saying while I was there, but since I did not properly ask what the meeting was about before going, I did not understand why we were meeting. I do know that everyone else there thought it was really important. But the biggest thing this week at work was the furniture drive, of which I was the coordinator. On Saturday morning I set off for a client’s house near Marquette Park (for those of you familiar with Chicago). The people delivering the furniture from a suburban parish were supposed to arrive between 11:00 and 12:00, but closer to 11 so I arrived 10-15 minutes before 11:00 and the client informed me that the people had delivered the furniture and left five minutes earlier, meaning they arrived around 10:30. Oh well, we discussed a lot of different times so it’s likely that there was some confusion there. They were caravanning to three other houses, so I was able to go to two of those so that was great. We and our clients are so appreciative of their help. Some of the clients lost their furniture due to the floods over the summer, or a fire, or because they were fleeing a domestic violence situation and had to leave everything behind. So thank you, St Barbara’s of Brookfield!

What have I been doing besides working? Well, on Friday a couple of LV alums were having a party so a bunch of us went to that—it was cool because it was a multi-generational LV fest. There were other people there, but mostly we took over the back porch and talked about LV and life. I got some good advice about what to do with the rest of my life—it involved leaving the country. Oh, Friday nights. Saturday, my friends Steph and Gail came into town because Steph was running the marathon. I declined coming to see them at the Expo in McCormick Place, figuring it would be a madhouse. We met up in Little Italy for some carbs and found Tuscany’s on Taylor St, where I had the Tuscany Pizza and it was delicious. We walked around a little bit and then went our separate ways because everyone was tired. I watched the second half of Moulin Rouge with Ann K. I can’t quite remember when we watched the first half, but it was within this past week. On Sunday, I woke up early and left the house at 6:15 with Carlos, Michelle and the Anns to go to the marathon. We set up a tent in Charity Village, just past mile 14 for Girls in the Game, Ann K’s site placement. We made signs (I made one that said You’ve Got Game in honor of the organization we represented) and we cheered for people. We weren’t really allowed to hand out things to people. It was so awesome to watch the marathon, there were SO MANY PEOPLE running. We saw Ryan, who works for Amate House, but I missed Steph. It was really warm, we were over heated and we were just standing there, so I felt really bad for the runners.

Today is Columbus Day so Amate had its Fall In-Service. Taller was closed for the day anyway, so I didn’t miss work. We went back to Irons Oaks in Olympia Fields, IL and did the high ropes course we skipped during Orientation. We did it with partners and I was with Danielle from North House. That was great because we had similar ideas about what we wanted to do. Other pairs would get to a challenge and try to see how hard they could make it while we would start out and then as we got comfortable we would make it harder. All in all, it was really fun and we were lucky the weather was so beautiful today.

We leave for Fall Retreat on Friday! We’re all really excited.

Lil Vil before the high ropes course today

the LV usual

This recipe is similar to a recipe that was called "The Usual" by South House last year. All that is missing is a can of corn and cilantro.

Last night Elissa and I made rice and beans.
a few cups rice (we cover the bottom of the pot about an inch, maybe 3-4 cups, there are nine of us)
a few cups black beans, soaked overnight (dried black beans are better for you/the environment than canned, for a variety of reasons)

boil each seperately until cooked

in a frying pan, mix:
1 green pepper
2 small-medium onions
1 medium tomato
some vegetable oil/seasoning
stir occasionally over medium heat

When everything is cooked, mix it all together. serve with tortilla chips and cheese. Let your roommates season with hot sauce, salsa and lime juice.

Free Food!

We decided long ago that whenever we are offered free food, we will excitedly proclaim “Free Food!”, provided the social situation allows for it. I have been saying that a lot this week—I brought in lunch to work of Tuesday and did not eat it until Thursday because Sr Kathy and Lisa had a couple of meetings with food and had leftovers to give us. On Tuesday, however, a client came just as I was walking back to my office to eat so I had to leave the food in reception while we met for an hour and a half. But it was still delicious. On Wednesday it was brunch food, which was perfect because we had a business meeting that morning. It was also great because it was Ray’s birthday so we had cake. Also, on Friday I went to a grad school open house at Loyola and there were snacks there. And, last night I went to a happy hour with some Amate people where we had free beer. I guess this living simply thing isn’t so bad, after all!

                At work, things have been pretty busy. Seasonal work is drying up so people have been coming in asking about getting financial assistance. There are some resources available (like the amazing Catholic Charities) but they are limited and funding can only last so long. I have been taking a lot of walk-ins this week, many related to financial assistance. We do still get the people with legal issues (most of my long-term clients have legal issues, people can only receive financial assistance once so we just see them the one time). I have also been working to coordinate our semi-annual furniture drive with St. Barbara’s Parish in Brookfield. They help their confirmation students get there service hours by having them deliver furniture with their families, and we provide the families. Mostly I have been working with the families to figure out what they need and compare their lists with the lists of furniture that is actually available. This finally started to come together on Friday. The drive was originally scheduled on this coming Tuesday but we pushed it back to Saturday because it will be easier for the parish.

                This weekend has been somewhat busy, compared to how I usually spend my weekends. On Friday evening I went to the grad school open house I mentioned and then came back to hang out with the roomies and watch a movie. Saturday I got a library card (Chicago Library cards do not look very legit). In the early evening we made the trek up to the bar on the north side in our minivan. People laughed at us for this, but there were seven of us, so it made perfect sense. It was the birthday of a girl from North House so we went over there after happy hour to hang out. Then this morning I went with Michelle and Ann K to Mass at Old St. Mary’s with the plan of going to see the end of the boat race in China Town. We had the Mass times confused so Ann and I went to China Town while Michelle stayed behind for Mass. We saw the end of the Chicago River Downwater classic, PWC was the winning corporate team. When we came back, a couple of LV alums were in our house because they wanted to get tamales. I went with them but they only had pork tamales so we went to another taqueria and I got an avocado burrito, which was delicious. It wasn’t free though. Oh well.