Of Mice and Motivation (and Hamster Wheels).

       If you have a great idea for a book, but haven't written a book, then you don't have a book.

     If you have a great idea for a business, but haven’t outlined a business plan and started checking things off a list, you don’t have a business.

     If you really want to lose weight, but are sitting watching TV, you're fat.  

      Until you put your foot on the base of Mt. Everest and then start walking upward, you’re not climbing Mt. Everest. 

     My cousin Don is a writer.  Among other things, he is a blogger extraordinaire.  The above excerpt is from one of his blogs, Kaleidoscopic Raygun (www.kaleidoscopicraygun.com)

     I enjoy my cousin's blogs.  He is a good writer, very funny, and often inspirational, but this particular entry from last August 22nd really hit me.  Like a bus.  It literally took my breath away.

     In this blog entry, Don goes on to talk about a guy who really wants to write a book and has asked for help.  This man did not sit around watching TV, wishing he could write a book.  He did something about it.  He took action. 

     He did not, as my cousin says, quit his job, hide away in a cabin in the woods or buy himself expensive coffee while waiting for the perfect writing conditions to happen.  He just kept doing little things consistently, every day, one day at a time.  Over the course of four years, this man cobbled together blog entries, tweets, documents and articles he saved from the paper, and fashioned himself the beginnings a great story. 

     This man took action and moved forward. 

     I, on the other hand, have not been moving forward.  I have things I want to do - have always wanted to do - but I've been stuck on the hamster wheel of 'waiting for the right conditions' which never seem to come.  Thanks to my cousin's blog, I see now that the right conditions will never come because the 'right conditions' are an illusion. 

     The truth is that there are no 'right conditions' and no 'right time'.  There is only here and now, and what in God's name am I going to do with it?  I have wasted a lot of time waiting for the 'right conditions' and I don't want to waste a minute more.  I want to dive in and take action! 

     I don't want to 'think about' writing.  I want to actually write!  Really write.  Consistently.  Everyday no matter what.  That is one of the reasons I started this blog!

     Towards that end, I have written a plan of action.  It is a list of specific steps I am going to take to make sure I write something every day.  No matter what.  And in this plan of action, I have definite, concrete goals for what I want to accomplish with my writing.  This is a step.  It is an action.  It is a move forward.

     It feels very good to take action.  It feels very good to move forward.

     One of the other reasons I started this blog is because I want to do something that causes me to go out and become involved in my local community, but this is another instance where I have been stuck on the hamster wheel of  'waiting for the right conditions'. 


But no more!  I have taken an action here, too.  I have joined a fantastic local walking / running group which goes year-round.  You can check it out at the following link:   www.facebook.com/groups/206222421048/
    
      I  joined because in addition to getting out and becoming involved, I need to reclaim my health, I need to lose weight.  I don't want to be the person sitting on the couch watching TV and only thinking about losing weight because, as my cousin points out, that just makes me fat. 

     Walking has been great.  I get to exercise, see downtown, and make new friends.  (How great it will be in February remains to be seen, but I am determined). 

     Although I haven't seen any physical pay-off yet, I sure am feeling better. 

     So, there you have it.  Sure, I won't be climbing Mount Everest any time soon, but I am going to keep on doing little things every day; little actions that move me forward one day at a time. 

     What motivates you?  What are the little things that you do to keep yourself moving forward?

Until next time,
Robin in Flint    


 

Blight Me No Blight, Part II (Or, What It Takes to Raze a House)

     Demolition of abandoned homes in Flint is underway.  According to the Genesee County Land Bank (www.thelandbank.org), this is what it takes to knock down a house:

• $12,000  The average cost in Michigan for demolishing a single-family home.

• $15,000  The potential cost for a house with hazardous material (including all houses that are severely burned, which must be treated and demolished as if they contained hazardous material.)

• $10,600  The average cost for the Land Bank to demolish a home
• property inspections & surveys:  $300-$600
• abatement and disposal of hazardous materials:  up to $15,000
• utility costs (disconnecting, etc..):  $250-$600
• demolition permit:  $75-$350
• structure & mandatory basement removal: $2300-$25,000
• mandatory backfill with clean soil & initial site grading:  $1200-$2000
• final grade, seeding & mulching: $500-$750

• 3000  The number of structures the Land Bank has torn down in Flint since 2003.

          The Language of Blight 

• reinvestment neighborhoods:  areas near schools with recent investments in housing through the Federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program (www.portal.hud.gov)
• tipping-point neighborhoods:  are neighborhoods with vacancy rates of less than 20% and have recently experienced an increase in vacancies and foreclosures
• buffer areas:  surround reinvestment and tipping-point neighborhoods; and include neighborhoods with higher vacancy rates than adjacent areas targeted for demolition

 



Flint Demolition Map 2013

Some sobering facts and figures, eh?

 

Until next time,

Robin in Flint


Learn more about Flint at www.cityofflint.com

* additional resource:
   Flint Journal www.mlive.com/flint
   article by Dominic Adams
   (dadams@mlive.com)
   dated 10/27/13
    

 



Purple =   tipping point neighborhoods

Blue =  reinvestment neighborhoods

Light Green = buffer area neighbor    hoods

<---------  I live in a buffer area, the lower part of the green area just to the right of the Flint River (the big river in the middle)


*Dark Green = key corridor neighborhoods in critical need of demolition.

Blight Me No Blight

      "Cities, like forests, have their dens in which all their vilest and most terrible monsters hide.  But in cities, what hides this way is ferocious, unclean, and petty, that is to say, ugly; in forests, what hides is ferocious, savage and great, that is to say beautiful.  Den for den, those of beasts are preferable to those of men.  Caverns are better than the wretched holes that shelter humanity." (Victor Hugo, Les Miserables; www.victorhugo.com)

     Blight can kill a city.  Empty, decaying houses fester and ooze much like gangrene on a soldier's torn leg, and the rot and stink of decay spreads, slowly but surely, from one house to another...and another...and another...until whole neighborhoods are consumed.  Under the rot and stink of decay, ugly things hide.  The toll isn't just cosmetic and economic, either.  Blight has a significant psychological impact.  The physical decay of property and buildings erodes souls and sucks the hope out of the people living in its midst.  

     When I moved here back in '03, the house across the street from my garage was a nice, respectable house with a nice, respectable family living in it.  They had three teenage boys.  The house, like the teenagers, was a bit rough around the edges - it was old, after all -  but it was lived in, and the family kept it up.  The boys spent every moment they could out in their driveway playing basketball with their friends.  Most times, there would be upwards of twenty noisy, goofy kids out there shooting hoops, running and jumping in the driveway and out into the street with the clumsiness of Labrador puppies who haven't grown into their feet yet.  It was great.  I loved it.  The sounds of a neighborhood full of life.

House across the street from my garage (view out my back door.)

     Sometime during the Great Recession that family left, abandoning the house, and the sounds of neighborhood life disappeared. 
 
     It didn't take long for the house to be stripped of anything of value - doors and windows; metal and all copper piping; and anything else that could be sold to scrapyards.  Soon the house became a sanctuary for homeless people and a haven for drug dealers.  A lot of 'sales meetings' occurred in that house.  Frankly, I got a little nervous of some of the people lurking around and hiding inside of that house, and I began to feel bad about my neighborhood.

City arsonists, who target abandoned houses, struck in the night.

         
     But, what the city of Flint couldn't take care of, the vigilantes eventually did, and a couple of years later, the local  arsonists (who have been very busy over the last few years) burned the house to the ground.  I went out my back door one day and was shocked to see the only thing left was the cinder block basement and a pile of rubble.  Charred wood bits and ash littered my yard and driveway, and the smell of scorched house burned my nostrils.  My house and garage had been hosed down by the fire department to keep them from catching fire, as well (and I'd slept through the whole thing!) 

The gaping hole where the house once stood.

     
     Not long after the fire, the city cleaned up the property.  The only thing left was the driveway, and a giant hole in the ground where the house once stood.  Eventually, the hole was filled in, and now it is just a nice, green, gently sloping, empty lot.  It is a much better view than that old, tore up gangrenous house.  

Now a nice, green city lot.  

     
     That is the story of just one house.  There are over 9000 abandoned and blighted  properties in Flint right now, with little resources to deal with them.  However, there is hope and help on the horizon.  Michigan has just scored a $100-million federal grant to help erase blighted and abandoned properties.  It is to be used to eliminate blight in five cities, and Flint is one of them.

    
     Detroit, with over 78,000 abandoned and blighted properties will get the bulk of the grant ($52-million), followed by Flint which will get $20.1-million.  The rest will go to Saginaw, Pontiac and Grand Rapids.
 

Flint Demolition Map 2013
Black Dots Are Houses Slated For Demolition

 

<-------  I live in the lower part of the green area on the right of the Flint river (the big river in the middle.) 


     This is great news for Flint, and demolition is already under way.  It is estimated that the federal grant will take care of 40% of our blight, and that is HUGE.   

     I've already noticed a difference.  It seems like every time I walk through my neighborhood, I notice another house gone, another property cleaned up.  It's a great feeling out of which optimism and hope grows.  Not just for me, but for my neighbors as well.  Seeing abandoned houses disappear and the properties cleaned up spurs people to get out and maintain their own yards, and I see more of that while I'm out on my walks, as well.  There are more people for me to say hello to - a first step in creating a sense of community.    

     How uplifting!

     There is an extra unexpected benefit for me, too.  When I began house hunting in 2002, I kind of wanted to be a little out in the country, someplace where the houses weren't right on top of each other, but I couldn't find anything I liked in my price range.  Now, with houses disappearing and green spaces appearing where the houses used to be, all I have to do is sit back and wait for the country to come to me!  Sweet!

Until next time,
Robin in Flint

Learn more about Flint at www.cityofflint.com

The Road to Flint

     For me, the road and the journey to Flint started  in Detroit in the 1960's...    

     I grew up in the country.  Our street was a dirt road in a neighborhood next to a lake.  I spent summers riding the Honda dirt bike my dad bought and taught me to ride; climbing  (and falling out of) trees; laying on the grass with my friends watching the clouds roll by for hours; and in the lake at our neighborhood beach.  Winters were full of skating on the lake, sledding, and snowball fights.
    
     But, I was born in the city.  In Detroit.  In fact, I come from a family with deep roots in Detroit.



Me, on our back porch stairs in Detroit.

     In the first decade of the 1900's, three of my great-grandparents emigrated from Europe and settled in Detroit.

     Two of my grandparents were born and raised in Detroit (a third was born in Nova Scotia, Canada, but grew up in Detroit; the fourth came to Detroit from Poland when she was sixteen). 

     Both of my parents were born and raised in Detroit.

     My mom's family all lived within walking distance of each other, and my great-grandfather would regularly stroll over to our house in the morning to have coffee with my mom.  If he could coax me out from my hiding place under the dining room table, he would take me for a walk.  

     When I was nothing but a toddler, my parents used to take me to the Hudson's Thanksgiving Day Parade downtown, and the experiences of those parades are my earliest, most enduring memories of downtown Detroit.  I loved everything about being there.  The sights, the raucous city noises, the smells - I even loved the sound my shoes made as I walked on the concrete sidewalks. 

     I remember being in awe of the giant buildings surrounding me, so varied in their size and majesty; their colors and textures of concrete, brick and mortar, steel and glass.  Looking up, up, up and not being able to see where they ended made me believe that they went on forever, all the way up to heaven. 

 

                                                                                    
     The throngs of people lining the streets for the parade were a little frightening to me, but as I sat up on my dad's shoulders, I could feel the excitement humming through the air like a low current of electricity and it was mesmerizing. 

     I only lived in Detroit for the first six years of my life (the entire family scattered to the four winds, as part of the White Flight out of the city after the '67 riots), but that was long enough.  By the end of those six years, the city had become a living, breathing entity, both fearsome and beautiful to me, and I had absorbed it into every fiber of my being.  I cried when we moved out of it.

     Yes, I grew up in the country, but I have always felt the pull of the city, and have always ended up there one way or another. 

     When I was sixteen, we moved to Rochester, Illinois, an ink spot on the map just outside of Springfield, the state capital.  The neighborhood we lived in was surrounded by cornfields on three sides, and I even had to walk through a cornfield to get to school.    After my high school graduation, I moved into downtown Springfield proper, not far from the capital building (sidewalks! civilization!).  I could practically see it from my front yard.



Los Angeles

     When I was twenty, I landed in Long Beach, California, just south of L.A.  I loved Long Beach, and I especially loved L.A.  Once, after an early morning job interview in downtown L.A., I spent an entire day wandering around the city, just soaking it all in.  Standing on a sidewalk, surrounded on all sides by skyscrapers (that sway back and forth during earthquakes - and how awesome is that?), I was in seventh heaven.  Just like when I was that toddler on adventures with my parents in Detroit, I could feel it singing through my blood, that humming current vibrating in my bones.  It felt like coming home.  

     When I was twenty-nine, I came back to Michigan, my wandering days behind me.  I stayed with my folks for a couple of  months, then settled in the city of Pontiac, just minutes from downtown, and minutes from my job.


Saginaw Street, Flint, Michigan

     In 2003, on the weekend of my forty-first birthday, I moved into my just purchased house in the city of Flint, and have been here ever since.  Originally, I picked Flint to be closer to some family who settled in Grand Blanc, and because I could get more house for my money.  But I stayed because I fell in love with it.  My move to Flint is the end of the road for me, but certainly not the end of the journey. 

     While close to 120 years younger than Detroit, Flint is just as fearsome and beautiful - full of old buildings and rich history - and I am happy to be here.  Although the why of it is not entirely clear to me yet, I know I'm supposed to be here, just as I know the sun rises in the east every day.  Flint is experiencing tough times right now, but it will come out better and stronger for it on the other side, and I'm excited to be here to see it, to be a part of it.  Flint is teetering on the verge of something big, and I can't wait to see what the future holds for me here.

Until next time,
Robin in Flint

Back To Work and Back To Blogging!

     Well!  It's been almost a year since I lost my job of thirteen years (my position was eliminated), and it's been a busy and hectic year - a challenging year of upheaval and adjustment - but things are finally settling down.  My job search was smoother than I could have ever imagined.  It took me barely two months to land a job.  My last day with my previous employer was September 19th, I was hired by my new employer in mid-November, and was back to work on December 3rd. 

     Before I talk about my new employer, I must back track a little here.  My previous job was at a manufacturing plant down in Troy (in the shipping offices); and while I loved the people I worked with there, it was a very toxic environment.  The ONLY reason I stayed as long as I did (besides the people, and the Blue Cross) was for college tuition.  One of my benefits was tuition reimbursement and I took full advantage of it to finish my degree.  I went part-time at night, after work.  Right now, I am one class away from having that degree - and my previous employer paid for 90% of it!  How awesome is that?

     My long-term goal always was to leave that place after I got my degree.  I planned on finding a job much closer to home - but not just any job.  No, sir.  No ma'am.  I had criteria that must be met...

     My goals, at the bare minimum, were to find a job in - or very close to - Flint (so I wouldn't have to spend two-plus hours a day in my car); with a local employer who's business contributes to the local economy and who is deeply rooted and involved in Flint and Genesee county.  I wanted this because I plan to become involved in the on-going revitalization of Flint, and being with an employer who is like-minded would be a huge advantage.   

     Most importantly, though, I wanted to be in a positive work environment where I can use my skills; where I can learn and grow; and where people are treated like human beings, instead of disposable commodities. 

     You're probably saying to yourself - 'Yeah.  In your dreams, cowgirl.'  That's exactly what I thought when I first put it all down on paper while mapping out my goals.  Well, guess what!  I found it.  I found almost exactly what I wanted in a new employer, and I couldn't be happier!

     My new employer is Landaal Packaging Systems: a provider of eco-friendly packaging products, packaging supplies, and packaging services since 1959:   "From Design to Delivery!"   Check out the website:  www.landaal.com  You may not have heard of us, but I can guarantee that you are familiar with our work (more about that later). 

     Landaal Packaging is owned by the Landaal family, and they are deeply rooted, involved, and invested in Flint and Genesee county. 

     I am a procurement representative - I order the corrugated items needed for our ongoing and upcoming projects.  Packaging is a whole different world from fastener manufacturing and I've  learned a lot about it this past year, but I've still got a lot to learn.    
    
     The environment is wonderful, and is the most positive I've ever worked in.  It is a very team-oriented and very supportive atmosphere.

     My total daily commute is 9.6 miles a day and I spend less than 25 minutes a day in my car.  I can even go home for lunch if I feel like it!  A luxury, to be sure.

     I am very excited about my future, and the new adventures and opportunities coming my way, and I think it's going to be fun to chronicle it all here for anyone, or no one, to see.

 Until next time,
 Robin in Flint 

 

Blog Interrupted!



            

     Good Lord!

 

     When I started this blog,  my intent was to post once a week. My second post was going to be a little background information about me, however, there has been an unexpected development. 

     On September 19th, I was let go from my job!  My employer of thirteen years eliminated my position, gave me six weeks of severance pay (plus Unemployment), and sent me on my way.  Just like that.   

     Now, you might expect that I would be devastated, and that this would be a huge, scary ordeal.  In fact, it's been quite the opposite.  Once I got over the shock of it, and my hurt feelings, I was nothing but immensely relieved.  Relieved that I don't have to get up at 4:30 a.m. every day; relieved that I don't have to make that drive down to Troy anymore (one hundred miles and two-plus hours a day, five days a week); relieved that I don't have to contend with traffic on I-75 anymore; relieved that I don't have to spend $200 - $300 a month on gas anymore; and relieved that I don't have to deal with the brutal office politics of the place. 

     And, to be honest, it was more than time for me to move on.  I was bored, bored, bored with the job.  It wasn't challenging anymore - it was becoming mind-numbing.   In fact, I was already  planning to begin a preliminary job search after the new year. 

     The only reason - or, I should say - one of the main reasons I stayed as long as I did (besides the people there who have become my good friends) was for the tuition for school.  One of the benefits my previous employer offered was tuition reimbursement, and I took full advantage of it.  Since 2002, I have been going to Oakland University (www.oakland.edu) part-time, working on my bachelor degree. 

     I've only got one more class to go.  The long-term goal was always to leave my previous employer after I got my degree, so having my job eliminated and being cut loose now is really just putting this goal a year ahead of schedule. 

     So, between my severance package and my unemployment insurance, I've got the luxury of time to look for a new job.  I don't have to rush out and grab the first thing offered to me.  I've got six months to be methodical and thorough in my search for an opportunity which will be a good fit for me. 
  
     Since my last day at work, I have been busy updating my resume, reactivating my unemployment insurance and Michigan- Works (www.michiganworks.org) account, and otherwise reassessing and getting all my ducks in a row.   Now that everything is in place, I am determined to find a new job in a timely manner, yet relax and enjoy my unexpected time off.  

     I am optimistic and excited about seeing where this new road leads. 

Until next time,
Robin in Flint



A Beginning

     My name is Robin, and I live in Flint, Michigan.  On purpose.  Yes, that's right.  On purpose.

     You know, the Flint, Michigan of Michael Moore's 'Roger & Me' fame.  The place that, according to the FBI, is the most dangerous city America.  No city with a population over 100,000 had a higher violent crime rate than Flint did in 2011. 

 http://247wallst.com/2012/06/11/the-most-dangerous-cities-in-america-2/

FBI statistics show the following for Flint in 2011:

• population: 102,357 
• median income: $22,672
• unemployment rate: 18.9%
• 23.4 violent crimes per 1000 people (2392 incidents total)
• 52 murders

     Last year, Flint had the second-highest murder rate, and the highest rates of aggravated assault, burglary, and arson in the nation

     Grim, I know.  People were (and still are) horrified that I moved here; and they aren't shy about letting me know it.

     But here's the thing: I've been in Flint for ten years now, and I like it here.  There are regular, good people here (I'm one of them) and there are great things going on; only nobody ever hears about any of it because, as is the standard for American journalism, only the ugly and horrible gets press.

     This blog is partly in response to my friends and relatives who are constantly dogging me about living here (and I'm looking right at YOU Law Turner); and partly just because I want to do it. 

     I want to write about what it's like to be an average, ordinary person living an average, ordinary life in a city with, unarguably, one of the worst reputations in the country.  Yes, it's challenging to live here, but it also has its rewards.

     Ah.  I sense some skepticism.  Skepticism can be good, but just remember this (and this is one of my favorite quotes - one I try to live by):

"There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance - that principle is contempt prior to investigation."  (Herbert Spencer)
 

     Put aside the skepticism and the contempt.  Open your mind and follow (vicariously) as I live the 'good life' in Flint.  You may be suprised at what you'll discover. 

Flint (city) QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau

Until next time,
Robin in Flint