Another resident has the option to move into public housing in another county on Monday. It is a great opportunity, but she has to come up with $600 to pay the utility deposits (and a back balance she owes) by then. You would think I would jump at the opportunity to help her and make it happen. The Shelter has never been involved in paying the costs of getting into a home. This is a Mom who has been working for a while. She had saved some money, but used it all to for the down payment on a car, for which she pays $70 a week. Plus insurance, registration, gas and any maintenance it needs. It is not a nice new fuel-efficient car. She has been looking for an agency to help her and I tell her as far as I know no one will pay utility deposits. Since she bought the car, she has not saved any money. She had $20, but took it out last week for gas. She works part-time, cleaning at a department store and makes less than $800 a month. When she was talking to me, she said she had to buy shoes for the baby last week. There is not much chance that she will succeed in paying her bills if she manages somehow to beg or borrow enough to pay the deposits. Residents think we are mean to make them save, but I sure wish she had listened.

I also had to deal with board members telling me to do something I disagree with, wasting the shelter's money on something that will make more work for me. And a leasing company that has been making automated calls to us daily, saying we are behind on our payments, when I have been paying another company for the copier. When they have a real person call me, I have thoroughly and patiently explained the situation, but this is the third one I've talked to, and he hadn't even read the notes. Maybe this time it will get straightened out.

Another beautiful day. When we got home, Captain and Vanessa were not here. They didn't arrive until after 5--no note, no phone call. They had been at the grocery store and said they had tried to call me, but my phone was turned off. (well, it wasn't, but maybe I wasn't getting service at that point, and Vanessa didn't leave a message). Ray made macaroni and cheese and I worked on my Arabic. It is hard. Then potluck and choir, a pleasure. We are starting to work on music for our solstice service, in the evening on December 20.