Pittsburgh Community Food Bank
I met other people whilst waiting for the shuttle to the Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. Kristen, who had done this before, and who sat in my row, and Stephen, who was handing out parking stickers for validation.
Francois sat next to me, and we chatted on the way to and from the food bank. Philippa directed us. I was partnered with Kathy, and we directed people to appropriate areas. I had to sit at regular intervals to rest my po' little body. Keith stopped by to say hello, and to talk about past landscapes.
There were about 40 of us, and we wiped down the stainless steel counters afterwards. Four hundred thirty families/groups were served approximately 25000 pounds of food in that session.
Labels: biology, dine, economy, personal finance, school, transportation
Stress and my Single Exemplary Life
I'm feeling stress in my single life. Mainly from things that would stress anyone out in any walk of life...health care insurance, personal finances, dealing with emergency situations at work...all this week.
I've been dealing with the situations with aplomb, but the situations remain stressful.
O well, one way of viewing this is that these stressors and my responses are my insurance that I am still alive.
~~~~~
The wording of the general intercessions puzzle me...we pray for (I've paraphrased):
a holy priesthood,
happy married life,
exemplary single life,
a fervent religious life,
etc. etc.
How is it that only single people are to uphold tenets and be "exemplary"? That's asking for a lot, I think. It's difficult for some of us singletons to hold it together.
Labels: Church, Faith, health, light, Mass, personal finance, philosophical, prayer, stress
Radio Information Service, absorbed
The Radio Information Service has been absorbed by Duquesne University's WDUQ. My personal finance show has been eliminated from programming. Fond memories of the station on Wharton Street, the people, and the production of programming.
I'll be looking for volunteer work closer to home soon.
-Grace
Labels: Duquesne U, farewell, personal finance, read, RIS
Back to the Station
This Monday, a week after the Birmingham Bridge reopened to traffic, I boarded the bus to the radio station to record two shows and a spot for the Q & A show that will air the week of April 4th through 10th, which includes Joe Wasserman, RIS board member and listener, with Carol Sikov Gross, certified elder law attorney. It is the latest interview episode that will air on my program, and the second one that includes Joe and Carol. The first one was a show on Powers of Attorney, Living Wills, and Wills.
I hope that my interview shows are helpful to my listening audience. I try to provide insights on topics that would be of interest to the listener through the Q & A format.
Labels: neighbors, personal finance, Pittsburgh, read, RIS, transportation, will
Birmingham Bridge, RIS
I indicated to the RIS that I would be unable to tape my personal finance radio show until bus service to the station resumes---the Birmingham Bridge ramp had dropped 8 inches, calling for an emergency inspection. PennDOT officials found that there was a problem with a rocker (this information found through the Philly Examiner, no less). The closure should last at least two weeks. Both the 54C and 84A bus routes will no longer stop near the station during the bridge closure.
I'm not too worried, as my show has been taped about two weeks advance for a while now.
Labels: personal finance, read, RIS, transportation, travel
Radio Information Service--Taping Shows
This Monday, I taped two hours of my personal finance show, as well as the feature spots for the special episodes on "Internet Security for the Blind and Print-impaired" and "Identity Theft: Case Studies" for the Radio Information Service the weeks of June 8th and June 15th.
The station won an award for "Celebrate the Season," by Marilyn Egan, an RIS volunteer. "RIS is lucky to have a volunteer of Marilyn’s caliber,” said Deborah Weppelman, Program Director/Executive Director. “She brings a wealth of knowledge, expertise, and enthusiasm to her volunteer work, and I was thrilled to accept this award on her behalf.”
Founded in 1976, Radio Information Service is a nonprofit radio station that provides current information 24 hours a day for thousands of listeners who are blind, visually impaired, or who cannot access print materials. More than 260 volunteers read daily newspapers, magazines, and books, as well as provide specialized programming for this audience. Broadcasting on sub carriers of WDUQ-FM and WQED-FM, the RIS private signal is available by subscription through special receivers, a telephone dial-in system, the RIS website, and the Comcast Cable system. RIS is a service of WDUQ-FM. For more information, contact RIS at 412-488-3944 or www.readingservice.org For over 30 years, RIS has promoted Independence through Information.
My friends Joe and Tina were instrumental in getting the concept of RIS off the ground in Pittsburgh. I am honored to count them among my circle of friends.
Labels: honor, personal finance, read, RIS
Identity Theft II
Yesterday I met with Tim, who is an information security professional who had some ideas for my listening audience at Radio Information Service. I will be interviewing him for my show at RIS, and he will be a guest for two shows: One on Internet Security for the Blind, and another show which will feature case studies of breaches of secure information. He is obviously passionately interested in empowering individuals to keep their personal information secure. I look forward to interviewing him for two mid-summer shows and to sharing his expertise with my listening audience.
~~
This week I joined Joe and Tina for breakfast at Camille's. We discussed a wide variety of topics, including whom to interview regarding Internet Security for the Blind. They recommended Bill N., who subsequently agreed to be interviewed. I am happy that I've got some great people for those two shows in mid-June.
Labels: friends, personal finance, RIS
Identity Theft I
I attended a talk by Ron Plesco, Jr. yesterday regarding identity theft. It was organized by the local branch of a financial planning house and the National Association of Asian American Professionals (NAAAP). Quite a good talk: An excellent speaker and presentation. Mr. Plesco recommended that one scratch out the numbers on the credit card receipts, if not already masked partially on the receipt.
A victim of identity theft himself, Mr. Plesco had good advice, some of it similar to that provided by the Federal Trade Commission.
Labels: personal finance, RIS
