Day 13: I Am Wiped Out

Today I went out vending with the number one vendor here at the shelter. Vending means selling the Homeless Voice newspaper although there's no real set price. People can give as much as they'd like or they can get one for free if they want.I hear there's a firm competition with the vendors here. Every day you come home from work someone asks, "How much did you bring in?"It's annoying to me because I am not competitive but for others, it's their pride and joy. Vending is not as easy as it looks....

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REBUILD: Grateful for the Shelter

This is a homeless shelter.As much as I have complaints about not having privacy or being comfortable I can not really complain because I am grateful to be here. It could be worse. I could be under the expressway.Here I get 3 meals a day. I am gaining weight because of eating so much. Here the cigarettes are priced very low and I am able to earn money as a vendor. The people here are friendly for the most part and they share what they have.Since being here I have seen people be kicked out and days...

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Day 11: I Am Not Mentally Ill

I spent 3 years in graduate school studying to become a counselor. I didn't choose to study mental health counseling because I didn't like the idea of pathology and categorizing people with mental illnesses that to me, were just a different way of thinking and viewing and interacting with the world.I loved my program, well, the things we studied and the assignments. The part I didn't love was the actual JOB- the sitting in an office part. It made me sick literally. I didn't like interacting with...

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Confession: I'm Smarter Than My Supervisor

Sometimes My Savvy Sisters aren't perfect. Sometimes My Savvy Sisters break the rules. Sometimes, we need a confessional to release the guilt. This is just the place for it too.Confession: I'm smarter than my supervisor.I am way smarter than my supervisor. She breaks down crying whenever there is a crisis and I cover for her. I feel sorry for her so I don't say anything to anyone. I can't wait to leave here.For My Savvy Sisters: Do you have something you need to confess? Submit your confession to...

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Get Rid of Your Bad Mood: Start Your Day Over

It's been a rough day hasn't it?One thing after another after another has affected your spirit and you can't seem to raise yourself up out of your funk.There is one thing you can do-Start Your Day OverPretend at this moment that you just woke up and you have the ability to start your day over fresh.POOF!It's done.It happened.Everything that upset you "yesterday" can only affect you today if you allow it to. If the remnants of that disappointment still lingers you can decide what you can do about...

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Creating A New Beginning

It’s time. You’re ready. You can begin today. In order to move forward from the mess of your past you must choose a new beginning. For different people this will mean different things but the process to initiating this important goal is the same for everyone.Forgive Yourself There were certain choices you made that you weren’t so proud of. It may be that you have characteristics that you wish you could change or maybe you hurt someone or yourself and you have been riddled with guilt ever since....

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EDITORIAL: Seeking A Cap & Gown

By Erika MartinEducation ColumnistGetting a high school diploma at the age of 34 can be daunting for some. Others see it as a exciting challenge. For me, it was the challenge and satisfaction that I was looking for, along with being able to get something that was denied to me when I was in my teens. When I was 14 years old, my parents pulled me and my siblings out of public school to home-school us. It was not done for educational reasons, but for strange and conservative religious reasons. I finished...

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Day 9: Meet The Homeless Voice Residents

63-year-old Peggy is a Paiyote Indian from Las Vegas. In order to prepare her and her 14 brothers for a wide range of experiences both on and off of the reservation, she was raised half of her life on the reservation and the other half as part of American culture.Despite her father's best efforts, at 20 years old Peggy found herself in the intensive care burn unit after her husband set her and their home on fire and left her for dead. She didn't die. She survived in spirit and continues to thrive...

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3 Things You'll Never Be Prepared For When Raising A Teenaged Son

By Brenda HookI never really wondered what his teen years would bring, and how things in our relationship would change. I always thought our dynamic of mother and son would always remain the same. I could have not been more wrong. I came home the other day and my 15-year-old son was in his room talking on the phone to a girl. I knew it was a girl because when he heard me come in, he quickly got up from his desk and shut his door. At that moment I wondered why there isn’t an instruction manual...

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How to Train (Motivate) Your Man

By Te-Erika Patterson Originally posted on www.Alphanista.com Regardless of his personality type, regardless of his race, regardless of his financial status there are really only TWO different types of men that exist; dominant and submissive. If you want to pull your man towards his best life and push him to be on his best behavior at all times, all you have to do is recognize which type of man you have and then train him. The Dominant Man The dominant man is recognized by his confidence...

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Your World News Report - April 19, 2011

Berlyne JulmisNews CoordinatorA New Castro, A New EraPresident Raul Castro has announced new leaders for Cuba’s Communist Party and for the first time in more than a decade Fidel Castro will not be a member. President Castro declared communist leaders should be restricted to two 5-year terms. President Raul Castro is open to discussions and negotiations with the U.S. President Raul Castro in his speech said "The party leadership was in need of renewal and should subject itself to severe self-criticism."...

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Day 8: Smiling Through

Today was a very long day but I awoke with a smile thinking about how much money I'd come home with after a long day of vending the Homeless Voice Newspaper. Basically, we just take donations for the paper (or the cards they print).I walk out onto the median with a big jug of water and my bag lunch and my plastic jug for donations and then I walk up to cars in the turning lane and ask for donations. Most people donate but some don't. It's not devastating to get a No because there are 8 other cars...

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Discovering Your Truths

There are certain types of individuals who might argue that certain things are TRUE and can not be denied. I like to call these type of people “happily socialized” and I am not speaking to them in this article.For the rest of us with an open mind, TRUTH is subjective. The TRUTHS we hold fast to in our lives are mere illusions or choices that we have happily accepted.What is the TRUTH anyway?Is it TRUE that the sky is blue?Is it TRUE that you will never amount to anything?Is it TRUE that aliens do...

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Celebrate Yourself Like A Celebrity

You don’t have to wait until your birthday to celebrate who you are. Celebrities celebrate themselves in style and so should you! Try these tips for at-home glitz and glam and watch as your star meter goes through the roof.Host a movie premiere- When actors and actresses complete a movie project, their promotions team go all out to celebrate their success. Turn an average movie night with your friends into a night of glitz and glam.Invite your friends over and ask them to come dressed in their...

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When Raising Your Child

A child who lives with CriticismLearns to condemn A child who lives with HostilityLearns to fight A child who lives with ridiculeLearns to be shy A child who lives with shameLearns to feel guilty A child who lives with toleranceLearns to be patient A child who lives with encouragementLearns confidence A child who lives with PraiseLearns to appreciate A child who lives with fairnessLearns justice A child who lives with securityLearns faith A child who lives with approvalLearns to like...

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5 Ways To Renew your Career

Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} When you wake up and roll your...

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Runaway Fuel Prices

I went to the gas station the other day and spent close to $4 per gallon. My tank was not empty but it cost about $50 to fill up my tank that was at about 1/4 tank empty. Typically that’s what it costs to fill it up when it is empty, but I have not allowed it to get empty because I am afraid of what the price will look like. My car has needed some repairs so I have been using my partners SUV, and the truck is a gas guzzler.If you are like me then you have a budget you have to abide by every week...

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Day 7: Adjusting & Moving Forward

I'm a little bit sticky, kinda smelly and very cranky right now. I just spent 8 hours in the hot sun working as a Homeless Voice vendor which basically means, asking for donations.I learned that we are not called panhandlers because we have to sign a contract to become independent contractors and we have to pay a portion of the donations to the shelter in exchange for our living expenses. There are no lazy people here. If you don't "work" as a vendor, you don't get to stay.I did well. In fact, I...

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