Blog post by Tina Winterlik © 2014
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So let's see where to start....I have bad cold, made a lot worse by what happened this week. Stress it is definitely is a monster.
So let's back up a bit. You know how people often look down on people on Social Assistance/Welfare and shake their heads and think something negative like why can't they get a job ...
Well now I am fortunate, I just finished my course at Emily Carr and I also got a little steady job for a couple a days a week to help me when I'm in between Web Design/ Mobile App gigs.
I was adding it up the other day...including 6 months of my pregnancy I have been off and on the system about 5 years and I hated every minute as it's just stressful. It's super hard to get it and then it's hard to get off...remember I have been supporting my 11 year old daughter by myself and I have no parents and I have no family nearby. Now people have stepped up to the plate and helped out occasionally and I truly appreciative but I want to share something with you.
Let me tell you about my week. I worked and then had a day off and then the next day I went to a funeral of someone I loved very much. My daughter had a cold and I kept her home from school 2 days...if I was working full-time or when she was younger I couldn't do that without help. Childcare in Vancouver is super expensive.
I got paid...and this is the part I want you to realize..
I had a huge hassle trying to cash my cheque...because it was a first cheque and my employer doesn't have direct deposit because it costs money and he only has a few employees.
I walked miles...with my cold from one bank to another and back trying to resolve this. Getting sicker and more stressed. Now it all worked out but don't you see how the system is set up to screw the poor.
You finally get a job. Then someone you love dies or something happens that makes you vulnerable, then your kid is sick- and if they are little you need daycare...and you get sick....buses are so expensive...you have no money because you can't cash the frigging check...at your bank with out the holding if 5 days...
you go to bank where the check was issued but they want to talk to the person that wrote it...that person isn't available till later...you walk back and forth...back and forth...meanwhile sad and missing the loved one that passed...sick with this stupid cold...stressed because you can't cash they cheque...the buses are expensive so your walking...your energy is zapped and ...well that is the sh_t that can happen to people.
Now what if that person gets really sick now...misses work...loses the new job. I am fine so that won't happen to me as I am going to rest all day...but what about the person who gets screwed like this...
This is how it happens people. This is how people fall through cracks and end up poor and homeless because the banks make your life hell. Why do they have so much power...why do we give them our money. It's dum.
Now the really annoying part and that may also lead to illness/job loss etc... is lack of good food...all the energy that I normally use to walk and go get my groceries is gone because I used it up walking miles to the bank and the cold has zapped me...and I didn't mention it but I also went to the doctor but the wait was so long I had to leave and come back...
So do you see...do you see how little sh_t like this can happen and that it isn't one thing...that tears a person down...people are resislant but life can really give you sh_t kicking sometimes...even though you are trying so hard...but it's exhausting.
Think about that next time, before you think thoughts like "why aren't they working" or "why are they so lazy" or ...whatever...
Not only that...the doctor was very kind but he did offer me some kind of Valium thingy to help me relax and then the pain in my ears would go away and other sinus spray and antibotic...to combat the pain in my ears. I thought I had a really bad sinus infection but we figured it out that I was probably clenching my jaw really hard.
I said I would pass on the Valium and asked would it be okay just to have some wine and he said that I could take those meds with wine. In the end he said I might want to wait to buy them as the cold should clear up and by relaxing the pain in my ears would get better.
(the spray cost $45 and the antibiotic $25) I didn't buy either(but what about the person that does, they work so hard and then end up spending it on medicine...that sucks)
But see...what if I took the valium...yuck...then I would be all groggy well I just want to show you what happens to people and how some decisions really mess people up.
So since I was able to cash my check I bought a big bottle of lavender...which is why I think I got sick in the first place....because I was out, because I had no money. ...and I grabbed a bottle of wine and came home, watched a video, had a drink and went to bed. Today I am feeling better.
This is not written very well because I am still sick and tired and I am heading back to bed but do you see it now...do see how peoples lives can get all f__k'd up. It's not one thing...it is one thing piling and piling on top of the other.
I want to make a little side note. After I got the check cashed I took the bus...and while riding I saw man that had a serious disability but he was coping well and it was a reality check that we can overcome huge challenges.
So my point is keep an open mind. Don't judge that single mom or that homeless kid or that addict so harsh...you don't know what happened to them...instead say a prayer for them, think a nice thought and project that their life will get much better soon. Keep an open mind because you never know if one day this sh_t could happen to you...because we are all the same. We are one!
Check out this Tedtalks, it's very interesting!
