Category: just posts

learning to count to 2

Hey again. It’s me. So, remember that thing I said earlier this week? About not managing to get the Just Posts up this past Tuesday, having said we would post them on the second Tuesday of the month? And then how I said we’d post a bit late, on the 10th. Well, it has come to my attention, thanks to an astute reader, that this past Tuesday was actually the first Tuesday of the month, and that the second Tuesday isn’t until next week. (Next Tuesday, to be precise.)

So, um, we’ll be returning to our previously scheduled scheduling, and put up the Just Posts on Tuesday. Which is the 14th.

In the meantime, I’m going to practice the following skills:

  1. reading a calendar, which I understand contains information about the days of the week.
  2. counting past the number 1

Hey, look at that! My list goes up to 2! I must be making progress.

just a bit delayed

Having mentioned that we’ll be aiming to put up the Just Posts on the 2nd Tuesday of the month, rather than on the 10th, it turns out that today (being that 2nd Tuesday) won’t quite work this month. My internet connection was out all day yesterday, and only just got fixed early this afternoon. (I did manage to sponge off a weak wireless signal from a neighbor to go online a wee bit, but the connection was painfully slow, and dropped out more often than not.) In any case, I am now back online. With a faster connection than before, even. Hurray!

Anyhow, the March Just Posts will be up on the 10th! This means there is still time for you to send in nominations. So please do!

The Just Posts are a monthly roundtable of posts on topics of social justice and activism. For more information, including how and where to send your nominations, please check out the Just Posts info page.

finding a way to volunteer with my hands full

A little over a year ago, Jen and Mad celebrated their first anniversary of social justice marriage, and a year of encouraging online activism in a little corner of the blogosphere with the Just Posts. As part of that celebration, they asked for Just Post participants to consider giving a gift: to take our activism beyond the online world, and to commit to volunteerism. In the real world. I scribbled a hasty I-owe-you of a post, promising to them (and to myself) that I would write more about my past volunteer work, and to find a way to do more volunteer work.

I’m ashamed to say that I have made no substantial progress in that area since that post. My main excuse has been overload. At the time I was teaching a class, trying to plow forward with my research job and degree-related projects, and suffering from first trimester morning sickness. Since then, I was busier than ever getting ready for conferences, traveling, and trying to move forward with my degree before my impending due date. Then I was busy with parenting a newborn and a toddler, while still trying to keep a foot in my research job.

I really want to do volunteer work, but I haven’t found the time or energy.

Theo will soon start daycare, and I will then need to work harder at making up hours I owe from my not-quite-maternity-leave stretch. With two children in daycare, the costs of childcare and occasional commuting to my job will probably just about equal my net income from my graduate stipend. John is super busy with his work, and already putting in long hours at parenting as it is. We can’t reasonably take time away from his work time or mine for me to have a few child-free hours to put into volunteering.

But I have an idea.

My hope is that I can find meaningful volunteer work where I can bring along Phoebe and Theo. I would like them to grow up with the acceptance of service as being a normal part of life, and including them seems a good way to further that goal.

So, my plan is to start investigating ways that I can volunteer with a baby and toddler in tow. I am very much open to suggestions, and would love to hear from any who have experience doing such things. Jen has inspired me on many occasions with her mentions of bringing her daughter M along with her to work in homeless shelters. Holly wrote about the doors opened for her in her research on public health by bringing along her small children.

My past volunteer work with resettled refugees was very important to me. I signed on as an ESL tutor, with goals of gaining experience that might be applicable to my studies and career. What I found, though, was that I was often able to help in more ways that just helping with language: I helped negotiate bureaucracy, helped interpret bills and other notices that came in the mail, and answered questions about life in the US.

It has occurred to me that many refugee (and other immigrant) families also have small children. I love the idea of getting together with such a family to help with their English or otherwise provide insight into US culture, and having Phoebe and Theo along with me to play with and get to know young kids from another culture. I’m hoping to find an organization that will be amenable to such an arrangement.

My next step is to start contacting some groups. I’ve identified two or three that I’ll try, and I plan to send some emails. I’ll try to have an update of my progress next month.

The February Just Posts

buttonfeb2009

Welcome to the latest edition of the newest incarnation of the Just Posts, a monthly Social Justice roundtable. Holly and are pleased to serve up a bounty of fabulous posts from around the blogosphere on topics of activism in all shapes and sizes.

I confess that I am currently swamped, sandwiched between work and family obligations, and smothered in mixed metaphors. As such, I don’t at this moment feel like I can write a post that does justice to a topic of social justice. Instead, I had a brainstorm that each month I would feature a song that speaks to some of the issues that affect our world.

I’m not sure why it popped into my head a few days ago, but I have lately been listening to and thinking about the song “Black Boys on Mopeds,” by Sinead O’Connor. Sinead sings of her sadness and frustrations about poverty, racism and social injustice. What has really struck a cord with me, at this time when I am continually adjusting to motherhood, is her longing to protect her child from these harsh realities:

England’s not the mythical land of Madame George and roses
It’s the home of police who kill black boys on mopeds
And I love my boy and that’s why I’m leaving
I don’t want him to be aware that there’s
Any such thing as grieving

If you have a few minutes I invite you to listen to the words. (You can also read the full lyrics.)

And now for our roundtable:

This month’s nominators:

Please also pay a visit to Holly, as she is writing about an interesting proposal.

If a post of yours has been included in the list, if you have nominated posts, or if you would just like to show your support of the just posts, we invite you to display a Just Posts button on your blog with a link back to here or to the list over at Holly’s.

For more information about the Just Posts, please visit the Just Posts information page.

thankful (PhotoHunt)

hugging_raggedy_ann
Phoebe is thankful for the dolly sent to her by her Grammy.

I really struggle with the more abstract themes for PhotoHunt. This week’s is “thankful.”

It’s not that there’s not much that I’m thankful for. If anything, there is too much.

I am thankful for my family and friends, of course. My health, my job, and my many comforts. I am thankful for the little daily pleasures, like watching my daughter learn and grow and play with her toys.

But there’s a much bigger list, too.

I am thankful that I have a home, and can afford to keep it warm.
I am thankful that I have access to good healthcare for myself and my family.
I am thankful that I’ve had a good education, and will be able to ensure the same for my children.
I am thankful that I can afford nutritious food and that I have ready access clean drinking water.

I am also humbled to know that all of these things put me in a privileged minority in the world, and that far too many people go without. Even in this and other wealthy countries.

All of this is a not-so-subtle opening for me to mention that the Just Posts are coming up again. If you have come across, or yourself written, posts in the month of February that address issues of social justice, please submit them for the monthly roundtable. To have posts included in the March 10th edition, which will be here and over at Holly’s, please send your posts by Friday, March 7th. (For more details, check out the Just Posts info page.)

For more (and probably generally less sanctimonious) entries for the theme PhotoHunt of “thankful,” pay a visit to tnchick.

January Just Posts

jpbuttonjan2009Welcome to the newest incarnation of the Just Posts, a monthly roundtable of posts about social justice started 2 years ago by jen of One Plus Two and Mad of Under the Mad Hat.

This is the debut of the Just Posts in their two new venues, here and over with my co-hostess, Holly at Cold Spaghetti.

We are very pleased to share with you a bounty of posts by people who have in common the desire to see the world become a better place.

Writing about causes that we care about is more than “just words.” The act of writing helps us put our thoughts together, and helps us connect to others. In many cases, the writing then moves us on to further action.

I know that my own participation with the Just Posts has moved me to take actions in my personal life. I buy more local and sustainably grown produce, and more fair trade choclate. I have cancelled catalogs and junk mail. I have donated money and signed petitions. Bought more used clothing items, given gifts that benefit worthy organizations, and stepped back a bit from the consumerist frenzy that constantly beckons. Most of these are small actions, when taken individually. But they are moves in the right direction.

In the months that come, I hope to explore issues of social justice in my own writing, with emphasis on finding ways that I can do more, and make more of a difference. One of my big personal goals is to find a way to do volunteer work that I can fit in with my (seemingly already overloaded) personal and professional life, and I hope to share my progress in that goal.

Now I’d like to direct your attention to the amazing list of posts below.

I would like to encourage you to pay a visit to as many of the folks below as you can. A simple click or two on your part can help motivate a blogger to write and do more. Please consider leaving a comment at a post or two, even if it is only to say “thank you.”

I would like to say “thank you” as well. First, to Mad and Jen for their work and inspiration with the Just Posts these past 2 years, as well as to Su and Hel who helped them along the way. Thank you to Holly for sharing this new endeavor with me. Thank you to all of you who have written the posts below, or nominated them. And I would especially like to thank you, for stopping by here, and clicking on some links below. Click away!

The January Just Posts Roundup:

Some of the January Just Post readers:

Please stop by to see what Holly has to say, too.

gather round the table

I’m pleased as punch that Holly and I will be hosting the ongoing Just Posts roundtable, an affair passed on to us by hostesses extraordinaire jen, Mad and Su.
canterbury tales roundtable
Our first gathering is coming up on Tuesday, February 10th, and you are invited. We’ll be serving up posts from around the blogosphere on topics of social justice and activism, and raise our glasses to the cause of making the world a better place.

We’d love to have you join us at the table. Help us offer a scrumptious menu by nominating posts from January that you have read (or written) by this Saturday, and then come back on Tuesday to partake of the feast.

For details on how and what, please check out the appetizing new Just Posts info page.

—
Round table woodcut image is from “William Caxton’s second edition of the Canterbury Tales printed in 1483.”

awards, activism and all that

The Just PostsThe Just Posts are up today, the monthly roundtable of posts about issues of social justice and activism rounded up from around the blogosphere. Mad, Jen and Su have put together a wonderful list, as always. Please go have a look at their posts, and some of the great links they have served up.

Sadly, they have also announced that they are unable to continue to host the Just Posts in the future, for various personal reasons. This is their last Just Post host hurrah.

However, the Just Posts will go on. I am honored that Jen and Mad are willing to pass the torch to me along with partner in crime activism Holly of Cold Spaghetti. Starting in February, we will be hosting the Just Post at our blogs.

In other news, Holly very flatteringly nominated this blog for a Weblog Award (“The 2009 Bloggies”), in the categories of “best-kept secret” and “most humorous.”

I have gone and repaid her the compliment by nominating her as well. And while I was at it, I may have gone and nominated a few other blogs that are near and dear to me. (By the way, the nominations close today/Monday at 10 p.m., so if you also want to nominate someone, you’d better run!)

2009bloggies

Anyhow, without further ado, here are my nominees.

best-kept secret weblog “The best underrepresented weblogs” (I wish I could have nominated 20 or more for this category!)

lifetime achievement “Webloggers who have been blogging since at least January 1, 2004.” Here, I’m happy to be able to nominate two bloggers who have been very influential in my own blogging:

weblog of the year “The category for the best weblog overall.”

best canadian weblog

most humorous weblog

best writing of a weblog

best new weblog “Weblogs that began during the year 2008.”

best australian or new zealand weblog

best asian weblog

best european weblog (Okay, so I picked some US and Canadian expats living in Eruope.)

best photography of a weblog

best art, craft, or design weblog

best weblog about music

  • wreke havoc (for her “guilty pleasures monday” series)

best entertainment weblog “Weblogs about movies, television, and/or theater.”

best weblog about politics

best computer or technology weblog

  • Disparate (because of his writings on social networking media)

best topical weblog “Weblogs with a distinct topic other than the ones in the categories above.” (Okay, so I sneaked a few personal blogs in the back door with this one, but they are ones with somewhat more focused topics.)

best group weblog “Weblogs written by an exclusive group.”

best community weblog: “Weblogs where everyone is invited to post.”

best web application for weblogs

That’s quite a bundle, but I actually feel bad for leaving so many great blogs off. I don’t like the categories for these awards. Most of the blogs I read don’t fit in easily. I managed to squeeze in a few by region and other criteria, but I had to leave out quite a few of my favorite blogs, which for the most part are personal blogs by Americans or Canadians. Guys, I owe you!

(I wish I had time to write more, but quite honestly, it’s taken me over 24 hours to get the nominations and the draft of this post together. Theo has been sick with a cold, feverish, and possibly also teething, and I have barely found more than 10 minutes in a row to type with both hands. )

better for me than a scone and decaf soymilk latte

After a glorious two years of partnership, Jen and Mad have announced that they are retiring from their work putting together and hosting the Just Posts. Their final Just Post hurrah will be on Monday, and for those asking what sort of retirement gift they’d like, they’ve put in a special request: to make a financial contribution to a charitable organization of our choosing, and to write about it. (If you haven’t seen their posts on this, in which they lay bare some of their behind-the-scenes discussion and debate, go have a look.)

I confess that I have never been great with donations. I’m inconsistent. I have a few organizations that I support, typically once a year. When they ask. And not even a great amount. If friends publicize a cause, or request sponsorship for a charity-based activity, I gladly contribute. But I haven’t made giving a regular part of my life.

So, I have taken a plunge that I haven’t taken before: I have signed up to give a regular monthly gift to the International Rescue Committee, which will be billed to my credit card.

The IRC just celebrated its 75th year of humanitarian relief and assistance to refugees.

Founded in 1933, the IRC is a global leader in emergency relief, rehabilitation, protection of human rights, post-conflict development, resettlement services and advocacy for those uprooted or affected by violent conflict and oppression.

This is the same group I volunteered with back in 2001, when I was an ESL tutor working with refugees who recently resettled in the US. The office out of which I worked closed, sadly, due to post-September-11th reductions in refugees admitted to the US, but they organization is still active resettling refugees in many other cities around the country. They are also active around the world giving humanitarian relief, and campaigning to protect populations that are at risk due to war and other political upheaval in countries including the Sudan, Congo and Iraq. They are among the organizations working to get humanitarian relief to civilians in Gaza, where the crisis has been much on my mind these past couple weeks.

The monthly amount I’ve chosen is not huge for me, especially if I think of it in terms of a weekly amount. I’ve easily spent more than that on an afternoon snack and beverage. In those terms, I feel downright stingy. But it’s a solid start. And it makes me feel a bit warmer, knowing that I am contributing to an organization whose work I find so important, and in a way that will make it easier for them to do that work.