Knocking on my Door After Hours

At 7:38pm, just a few minutes ago, the maintenance man came knocking on my apartment door.  I asked him, who is it?  He said, maintenance.  I asked him, what do you want?  He said, you called for maintenance?  I said, no I did not.  He said, okay.  

I do not know what that was all about.  But, it is after office hours.  I found his visit strange.  He is the same maintenance man that used his key to enter my apartment unannounced on 11-13-2012.  I do not trust this guy.

An Angry Spanish Caller

Today at 4:46pm, someone with this phone number (630-456-4232) called my cell phone.  It was a female speaking Spanish and she sounded angry.  Her number did not show up in the display window of my phone but it did show up in the view received calls screen.  I wonder if this has anything to do with the maintenance man who tried to come into my apartment on 11-13-12.

A Man Tried to Come Into My Apartment

At 1:07pm today, the maintenance man who works at my apartment complex used his key to enter my apartment without knocking and without my permission.  I did not place any orders with the management office for repairs or work of any kind.  There was no notice to residents of work needing to be done in this entrance.  When I asked him what was he doing here, he claimed that he had the wrong apartment.  I called the management office downstairs to report it and I tried to report it to the local police but the officer was asking me for my name and birth date which I did not feel comfortable to give him and he had an attitude with me in his tone of voice pointing his finger in my face.

Half The Sky

Half the Sky is a film based on a book written by New York Times Journalist Nicholas D. Kristof and his wife Sheryl WuDunn.  It is a film about the unheard of stories of women and girls who are oppressed based wholly on their gender.  It is a film that offers hope for women and girls around the world from China to Africa, women of all cultures, nationalities, and ages.  I myself have been oppressed so this story touches me to the depths of my heart and soul.  Read the book, see the film, help bring awareness to the subject, have discussions about it, and get involved.  It aired last night and will air tonight at 8 pm central standard time.  Here is the link and thank you!

For the film: Half the Sky
For the book: Half the Sky

JUST A SIDE NOTE:  My sister did a search into our family tree and our distant ancestors are from Sierra Leone which is one of the places where the film was shot.

When You Feel Like Giving Up

When you feel like giving up, when it feels like an impossible situation, think about this.

1 Corinthians 10:13
The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience.  And God is faithful.  He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand.  When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. --NLT

You can endure because God himself will not allow anything in your life that is too hard for you.  So don't give up.  Don't quit.  God will give you a way out so you can continue.  You might need to take a walk.  You could have a heart to heart talk with a trustworthy friend or family member.  Your life is worth living and there is a purpose for all that you go through.  Things always look better the next day.  Try to surround yourself with positive and reaffirming things to occupy your mind.  Do not meditate on the negative or on things which deplete hope.

God's Open Door

What God opens no man can close; and what God closes no one can open. When God has something for you no man can take it away. If something did not work out the way you wanted, trust God's plan for your life. Here is a verse for those of you who don't understand the reason why something is the way it is:

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. --NLT

Friends with Benefits

What would you say about a friend who would help you out financially if you would agree to being friends with benefits? Doesn't that sound like prostitution? Someone I have known since high school propositioned me to be friends with benefits. I won't mention his name, why, to protect the innocent. I have to say that I'm not surprised. I have always known what kind of person he is based on past experience. If your friends treat you like this then what say your enemies? No, I'm not surprised at all. Taking advantage of your friend when they are down is...fill in the blank. It's like going to the department store and you see something you would like to have but you don't want to pay so high a price for it. So what do you do? You wait. Wait for the price to drop low enough then you buy it. How would you feel if your friend treated you like that?

More of the Same Problems

On 5-24-12, I applied for food stamps, medical, and cash benefits online. On 6-7-12, I had a phone interview with a caseworker. The caseworker informed me that I was eligible for food stamps only and that she was processing the application as we spoke. She said that I should receive a new Link card in the mail in fourteen days. I asked her why did I need a new card instead of using the one in my possession. She said that the card I have is linked to medical and cash benefits and that she needed to process a new card not linked to those other benefits. The card should have arrived by 6-27-12 in the mail and it still has not arrived. I did inform her while on the phone that we needed emergency food stamps. This is the same office I had the same trouble with in December of 2011. Their address is below:


DUPAGE CNTY DHS
146 W ROOSEVELT SUITE 2
VILLA OAKS OFFICE CONCOURSE STE 2
VILLA PARK, IL  60181-3575

Happy Mother's Day!

To all the moms out there Happy Mother's Day! One thing that I have learned is that having a son has taught me to not be selfish. It changed my whole life. Every decision I made was with him in mind. It taught me how to love someone else. I love my son very much. It is hard for me to imagine what my life was like before he came into the world.

Now my son is not a little boy any more. I have watched him grow from a little bitty thing to someone I now have to look up to because he towers over my head. He'll be starting college this fall, my how the years roll by. He has grown into a fine young man. It is a pleasure to call him my son. Just 20 minutes ago he wished me a Happy Mother's Day. Well, it is late and I must get some sleep now. Bonne nuit, that is french for good night.

Serving Two Masters

Money is a master. God is a master. Which ONE will you choose? The Lord laid two verses on my heart. I would like to share them with you. They are ultimately about the choices we make in life that could mean the difference between life and death, literally. All of us should aspire to make the right decision. Also, we often think that our money can save us or protect us but the truth is that God is the one who protects/saves us. Here they are:

Luke 16:13 NLT
"No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can not serve both God and money."

Psalm 127:1 NLT
"Unless the LORD builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Unless the LORD protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good."

Stop CISPA (Bill HR 3523)!

This bill basically allows Congress the right to listen in on your most private and personal communications online, communications like Facebook, Twitter, texting, and your email.

Congress is currently considering CISPA – the Cyber Intelligence Sharing & Protection Act – a bill that purports to protect the United States from “cyber threats” but would in fact create a gaping loophole in all existing privacy laws. If CISPA passes, companies could vacuum up huge swaths of data on everyday Internet users and share it with the government without a court order. I oppose CISPA, and I’m calling on Congress to reject any legislation that:

* Uses dangerously vague language to define the breadth of data that can be shared with the government.
* Hands the reins of America’s cybersecurity defenses to the NSA, an agency with no transparency and little accountability.
* Allows data shared with the government to be used for purposes unrelated to cybersecurity.

Join me in opposing this bill by posting this statement on your own page and using this online form to send a letter to Congress against CISPA:

Here is the link.

Black Unmarked Police Vehicles

On 4-2-12 or 4-3-12, I was visiting a neighbor in entrance 262-GD here at Villagebrook Apartments in Carol Stream. Someone blew their car horn. My neighbor looked out of her apartment window and saw that it was her daughter blowing the car horn for her to come outside. My neighbor went outside to talk to her daughter. After talking with her daughter for about 5-10 minutes she came back inside the apartment where I was waiting for her. She told me about how a police officer questioned her while she was talking to her daughter. He asked her for her name and where she lived. She gave her name and pointed out her apartment window to him. She said he ran her information through his computer system in the police car.

Then she went to her apartment window to look and see if they were still out there. They were sitting outside her apartment entrance. She called me to the window to show me. So I walked over to where she was and I looked out the window. I saw two black police vehicles with tinted windows. I could not see anyone sitting inside the vehicles. The car windows were too dark. One vehicle which looked like it could have been a BMW was parked in the parking lot a distance away from the entrance. It had it's park lights on and was facing her apartment window. The other vehicle looked like it might have been an SUV or a Blazer. It had the words Carol Stream Police written on it's side and it had no lights on not even park lights with the exception of the blue light coming from the inside of the car.

They sat there for a while. I began to feel a little uncomfortable so I told my neighbor that I was heading back to my apartment. Then I left. This is not the first time I noticed black unmarked police vehicles in the area. I have seen them before on several occasions zooming through the driveway here at Villagebrook Apts. They circle the perimeter like they are patrolling this particular area. I know they are police vehicles because I could see a blue light coming from the inside console of the vehicles. Their presence makes me feel afraid. It is very unnerving.