And the Wall Came Tumbling Down!

I have embarked on another major renovation project at my house.  This one I am doing mostly on my own.  This is by far the biggest project I've undertaken by myself.  So far I have painted (I know, whoop-dee-doo), attempted to pull up hideous vinyl tile from my hardwood floors (gave up on that after about 4 sq. ft.), installed a cheap laminate tile in my spare bathroom, and tore out my damaged dining room ceiling (I paid someone to install the new one).

So, this is going to be not only a much bigger project, but much more technical and involved as well.  I am tearing out a dividing wall between my dining room and kitchen, and then will be reconfiguring my kitchen.  I will have some assistance from a friend regarding wiring, etc., but the vast majority of the project will be in my, hopefully, capable hands.

I was reminded of my penchant for optimism as I got not too far into this effort when what I thought was only going to be one outlet in an otherwise "hollow" wall turned into THREE outlets and a heating duct for the second floor.  In my happy naivete, I thought this project would be "no big deal," just tearing down some plaster and lathe and then cutting out the studs!  Au Contraire!  My initial plan to remove the entire wall would require rewiring of all the outlets and rerouting of the heating duct.  Those skills are not in my bag of tricks and I'm not of the mind to learn any new tricks.  Even with help from my friend, it would make my "simple" job much more complex and possibly costly, so we devised a solution that I am actually really excited about.

The new plan is to drywall over the right-hand portion of the wall--closing up the current doorway--just enough to cover one of the outlets and the ductwork.  This will create a small divider between the rooms (approx. 32'') that will give an aestheticly pleasing look of separation but still allow for alot of openness.  I also plan to leave an open space of several feet between the high ceilings and the top of this small divider.  That will create more openness and be a great place to sit trailing plants!  Yea for unexpected ductwork!

At least the major clean-up effort of this project has been made SO MUCH easier by my bright idea to dump the materials in the lot of the half-collapsed tenement next to me.  This was decided upon as I realized that I had no contractor bags to use for disposal and I am making every effort to keep this job as cost-free as possible (contractor bags run $30 for a box).  I have been lurking around on craigslist, scavenging for free, used cabinets, countertops and any other materials I may need.  I don't think people are giving away contractor bags--especially not used!  This house is scheduled to be torn down by the city anyway, so I don't think my few piles on top of the existing rubble will cause too much attention.  I'm very possessed by seeing how little I can accomplish this project for.  Any guesses anyone?  Complete kitchen remodel for under $200?  $100?  It's truly amazing the things people give away for free on craigslist!  We'll see what happens!

If only this job were as easy as walking around the wall seven times and it falling to the ground. Where's Joshua when you need him!

Thesis Process Outline

For those who are interested in what I am doing for my Master's Thesis, here is a basic outline I wrote up of what I need to accomplish over the next ten months.  In the original document, I have dates for each item posted in the comments bar, but I didn't bother including those here.  My basic research question is this:  Is there a trend of white women from middle-class backgrounds going to work with low-income, urban minorities and what is the profile of these women (including what factors cause them to make this decision)?

I.  Proposal Process

1.  Complete Proposal and send to Dr. Corbitt and Jerry for review.

2.  Complete and send all materials for IRB review.

3.  Create detailed outline of thesis research plan.

II.  Research

PHASE I

1.  Create detailed list of all Philadelphia agencies to include in Phase I of study.

2.  Gathered information from each Philadelphia agency included in Phase I for employee demographics including getting permission / contact information from subjects for Phase I surveys.

3.  Data compilation complete for Phase I employee demographics.

4.  Create Phase I surveys.

5.  Contact 100 potential subjects for Phase I surveys (via email, hopefully).

6.  Received 75 completed surveys.

PHASE II

7.  I complete a survey and have someone interview me for answers to Phase II research.

8.  Contact and set up appointments with potential interview subjects based upon survey

     results (appointments to be scheduled between 10/10 and 11/6).

9.  Completed 20 in-depth interviews. 

III.  Data Analysis

1.  Data analysis tools completed for both portions of Phase I research.

2.  Phase I data entered into analysis tools.

3.  Detailed notes/outline or other organizational model created for results of Phase I research.

4.  Data analysis tool created for Phase II research

5.  Phase II research entered into analysis tool.

6.  Detailed notes, outline or other organizational model created for results of Phase II

     research.

IV.  Writing (working outline)

1.  INTRODUCTION

Detailed explanation of my personal background leading to an interest in this research. 

Comparison on my personal results with overall research findings.

Introduction to several prominent figures in the study.

2.  LITERATURE REVIEW

History:  American Settlement Movement

  Suffrage Movement

International Perspectives

Field Specific Literature:  Education

        Social Work

Relevant Areas Lacking Research and Writing

3.  EXPLANATION OF METHODOLOGY

      Also, importance of the research, why it’s needed, it’s contribution to the field.

4.  DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS

A.  Profile of White Women working among Urban Minorities

          Discussion of the following potential markers:    -Demographics

-Family Background

-Other background experiences

  -Socio-economic Status

  -Religious Views

-Political Views

-Perception of Self

-Perception of Minorities

-Efficacy of their work

-Worldview

B.  Causation

Discussion of the following potential factors: -Gender-based

occupational segregation

-Concept of social obligations

-Psychological (power, domination, need to be needed)

-White Guilt

-Religious Convictions

-Childhood exposure to injustice

-Personal experiences of suffering

-Connecting oppression of women with other types of  oppression

-Women as nurturers

5.  CONCLUSION

      Is this a phenomenon?

      Why is it happening?

      What are the general results (is it a good thing or a bad thing--or most likely somewhere in

      between)?

      Recommendations based upon findings.

Health & Wealth and Friendly Disagreement

Just had a really infuriating conversation with a friend.  A Christian friend, who just doesn't see theology the way I do.  That is the "infuriating" part about it-I've never been much of a fan of the whole "agree to disagree" thing.  I just can't understand how two people can look at the same two things and see something so radically different.  We are both Christians, both believers in God's sacred and holy scriptures, yet we come to different conclusions.  I am NOT satisfied with that!

We were discussing the concept of the "health and wealth gospel."  A concept which infuriates me much more than "agreeing to disagree."  To be more accurate, what we were really discussing is what God's blessings look like and the reality of suffering in our lives.  To best sum it up, my friend was arguing that God does not want us to suffer and blesses us for our faithfulness.  I had to part with him from the gate.  Christ suffered immensely--and not just on the cross, through the act of redemption, but throughout his life.   I would argue that, 1.  Suffering can come to us unprovoked.  In other words, it sometimes has nothing to do with our faithfulness, or the lack thereof.  2.  That God specifically calls us to share in the sufferings of Jesus.  In other words, sometimes, as a direct result of the choices we make to live according to God's Kingdom, as opposed to the kingdom of this earthly realm, we will indeed suffer.  For some reason completely beyond my comprehension, my friend had to part with me on those points.  I see them as nothing other than wholly Biblical.

He kept saying, "you're pointing out all the extreme cases" (responding to me speaking of children who die of diseases, women who are raped, people who die in totally random car accidents--uh, how about women who are happily jogging one minute and dead from a fallen tree branch the next).  Of course those are all "extreme," however, they are also all very common (except for the tree branch thing) and have nothing to do with our level of faithfulness, or our "naming and claiming" blessings for our lives.

Next I brought up Job.  This seemed to be pretty cut and dry to me.  Scripture clearly tells us that Job was blameless before God and that the entire course of "unfortunate" events was completely outside of his understanding.  "For my ways are higher than your ways" declared God.   "Did you put the stars in the sky?  Did you place the behemoth in the sea?"  The point being, you don't always need to know and fully understand why suffering happens--sometimes we just can't.  My friend said that Job was the richest man of his day, God was getting his attention because "where our treasure is, there is our heart."  I wanted to bang my head against a wall.

So, there really is no conclusion to this posting.  We didn't agree, and after two hours on the phone, I had to use the facilities and just couldn't continue any longer.