There goes the Neighborhood

Last night I attended a book conference that was sponsored by Dekalb county libraries and Atlanta-Journal constitution. Professor William Julius Wilson , a well Known Harvard Sociologist was talking about his book “There goes the Neighborhood”. The book was a groundbreaking research that looked into racial, ethnic and class tension in four Chicago neighborhoods.

William's research showed a clear "White Flight" once a black family or Hispanic neighbors moved to their sub-division. Majority of the whites moved out or stayed to fight back once these new neighbors bought homes around them. Professor William research shows how America is far from fully integrated .The numbers are really disappointing if you ever thought America is fully integrated. The white homeowners are paranoid of their house value going down. They are afraid of their schools becoming crowded and their neighborhoods becoming a drug hub.

The neighborhoods that didn’t move out decided to fight back by making extreme rules for the new black and Hispanic homeowners. The only reason the white homeowners stayed back to fight was because their jobs required them to live within the city limit since they were city government employees. They had no choice of moving to a new place.They made strict rules to "protect" the neighborhood. This is shameful to the American society.I am sure America have learnt long time the objective lesson on the contradictory nature of it's denying civil and human rights to Americans solely on their skin color. It is time for Americans to rethink it's economic/class segregation of it's society.

Pink Slip?

So everything that has a start does have an end, right? As of the end of next month I will be out of work. My six month contract is up at the end of this month, but the management decided to keep me until the end of the year. The pictures above are from people I work with( Sorry I had to take the pictures out). They have really taught me a great deal about respect for work and getting along with co-workers. Even though they are way older than I am we did get along far better than the young management. Each of the above man has a twenty something years working in the energy industry. They can tell you anything that goes inside a Westinghouse ovation and GE gas turbines. I was lucky to work around such dedicated employees who were willing to share their knowledge with a rookie like me. I will definitely miss them.

As for me now I have no idea what my next step will be as I wait a word from the graduate school admissions committee. I know I have to find a job in the energy industry now that I have a little experience, but I am not that much interested in getting jobs as to getting to the graduate school.I still though have to find a job soon after the contract runs out. We all have to pay them bills right?

It is funny that my cousin who has established his career foot for a while now thinks that I am stressing too much about my life. Yeah right, I definitely do worry about my life. This is why it is my life and not anyone else’s.I can understand his concern of me putting too much pressure into my goals, but we all do doubt ourselves sometimes in our lifetime. Maybe I am stressing too much about things that I can't do anything about it. But I haven’t lost hope yet since it is last thing I want to loose in this insane world. As for now I will be optimistic and hope that I do find a job in Atlanta area. I did get a job in the gulf coast, but I doubt I want to move now that I can’t gamble with my instate residency status if ever the graduate school thing works out this year.

A friend of mine come up with the idea of going to medical school in the Caribbean (Ross University).I must admit that I can’t take all those Stafford loans and not be able to practice in the state because of not passing the board exam or finding the right residency program in the state. I have a Pakistani friend who went to medical school in the Caribbean and is now doing his clinical rotation in New York. I am afraid to say I am too poor to gamble with that kind of loan money.As for now I am not thinking of that.I will just wait and see how things will unfold in the near future Insha-Allah.If nothing works out I can always do advanced degree in an energy industry career.It is time to pray and keep a positive attitude that I have lost in my life lately.No wonder my cousin is a little worried