Highest and Lowest Median Incomes By Geography

I was reading this article on Boston.com today and started wondering if you plotted the high incomes vs. low incomes on a map, would you see a pattern? So that is what I did on my lunch-break.



There is definitely a pattern! If you're a Western suburb of Boston, you will have a high median income. But if you are west of 495, you are poor. I bet that is because Western MA had a huge manufacturing industry and now those jobs are in another country. Also, it could be linked to funding. For example, in Q3 2010 Hampden county was awarded $557,318,372 in Recovery Act Funds. For the same time period, Suffolk county received $1,800,660,696. Boston's unemployment rate in November 2010 was 7.4%. Springfield's is 9.2% for the same time period. Another way to look at this data is to search for high median incomes and low real estate costs. That would be the place to live. Let your rich neighbors support the town infrastructure!

5 Pounds

Weight Watchers online is going really well! I like the Points Plus program and all the online tracking tools. Also, since I'm a numbers gal, I like budgeting points for my meals. I am pretty horrible about fruits and veggies but kick ass on water on workdays.

Years ago, I did the regular Weight Watchers with weigh-ins and meetings. Man, I hated every second and I didn't lose much weight. The meetings were the worst. There was one lady who loved to list out all the foods she didn't eat and how she totally isolated herself from her family to stick to Weight Watchers. She basically got off on being a weight martyr. Another woman wasted meeting time asking points values for random foods. So, obviously the whole experience was a chore. Maybe with a better meeting leader, I would have enjoyed the meetings? I also didn't like the machinations for weigh-ins I resorted to. I tried to make sure I wore the same exact clothes each week and had no food in my stomach. Which is probably why I found meetings to be a pain in the ass since my stomach was grumbling and my blood sugar was really low.

This time around, a lot more is under my control plus I get to avoid the weight loss crazies. Also, the cool thing is that if you're good about tracking, you can basically eat whatever you want within your points limit (plus weekly surplus). It's not about denial and food martyrdom, it's about portion control and doing math. With this new attitude, I was able to lose 5lbs in two weeks! I just can't wait until the gym clears out thanks to all the resolution quitters - who won't be me.

The Red Line, The Decline

I have gone back to being a MBTA commuter for my job this past month. As a temp, there really is no other alternative for commuting to work. In the past month, the red line has had more problems than I have ever encountered in years past. At least twice a week, there is a dead train or technical issue. It has gotten so bad that I check the MBTA alert system before leaving home/work and by the time I get to a T station, something has gone haywire. When there is a problem, it means I am 30 – 40 minutes late because I have to wait for the 3rd train to be able to squeeze myself onto the trolley. I have tried adjusting my arrival time but it doesn’t help. If I show up 30 minutes earlier, there is still some problem. Also, how can you be a good employee when you can’t make it into work on-time? It isn’t a problem for me because I have a nice boss but I wonder if others have encountered employment issues?

Tempus Aeternum

I have been with my current job for a month and I still like it a lot. In my meeting with my manager this week, I asked if he had an idea when I could go perm. He told me that he can't bring me on full-time because it goes against his head count. But he also didn't say when my contract will end that's the up side. I asked a co-worker who just converted to full-time how long it took. For him, it took 2.5 years! But, then again, there was a huge economic crisis and the company had 2 rounds of lay-offs that he survived. Hopefully, if the economy is really recovering, it won't take as long for me because otherwise I'm in this temp state until someone from my department leaves. The job pays really well and being without benefits isn't too bad so far. Unpaid holidays and sick days aren't perfection but I can still afford my own health benefits (as long they don't jack up the premiums again). I'm staying put betting on an improving economy but also keeping an eye out for any full-time perm opportunities.





Speaking of, a cold has been making its way through my department. When I started last month, one woman had the cold and I caught it last week which I thought I had kicked out of my system. Lo and behold, I have my annual evil sinus infection and the guy who sits next to me is suffering too. He took a sick day Monday and I took a sick day Thursday. Friday, we joked about punishing the original sick girl. I came up with a pillow stuffed with used tissues. My manager is all about natural cures and vitamins so he has been espousing about the bonuses of echinacea. I am a little cynical about natural cures but he did mention an interesting option for my spring allergies: quercetin. I might check that out! Right now, I am rocking the neti pot, Zpack, a humidifier, and Advil allergy and sinus (which is AWESOME BTW)

Dick Clark Isn’t Trying to Bum You Out

I was surrounded by a lot of nasty comments at work this morning about Dick Clark’s appearance on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve. For example, “Ugh, why does he even bother showing up? You can’t understand him…. He sounds like a stroke victim all slurry and awful…” I couldn’t keep quiet so in response to just a couple people I told them that I had a stroke ten years ago and that speech is the hardest thing to get back. I also pointed out that Dick Clark probably has this one thing to look forward to each year. A goal and something to keep him going.

Granted, I haven’t been able to watch his New Years special for quite some time because I wind up sobbing and who wants to start a new year that way? I had a stroke ten years ago at age 24. It took me over a year to get my speech back to somewhat normal and I still have stroke deficits. Dick Clark had a stroke five years ago at age 76 so imagine how much harder his recovery must be. I know I can’t change all hearts and minds about what’s appropriate for stroke survivors to participate in. I also understand that stroke deficits are very scary and upsetting to others but imagine what it is like having to deal with them on a daily basis! How frustrated and useless a stroke survivor can feel. So, I say, let’s give Dick a break and be happy that he has this one big thing to look forward to each year. Dick is an inspiration and is ALIVE people!