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Friday, December 11, 2009
Friday, November 13, 2009
I forgot to build the ark
On Wednesday, November 4th, I arrived at work to find a sign on the front door which said "Evacution in progress. Please report to the nurse." Yes, it said EVACUTION - not evacuAtion. I thought it was either a joke, or a drill. I go inside, tell the peeps in front that their sign is misspelled, and ask what's going on.
Not a drill.
I go into the main hallway which is COMPLETELY dark. Now mind you, we usually have a generator, which gets things up and running if the power goes out. There were no lights. And initially in the main hallway there aren't any windows. Oh joy.
I'm getting to the reason - gimme a second.
I check in with the nurse. I ask what the heck is going on. She says "we're evacuating down to Western State." I said "Are the kids already down there?" No. They're sitting in the dark on the unit. Luckily though - on the unit - there's a skylight and various windows.
Then I get with some of my other social work peeps to discuss.
The basement flooded. Rumor has it - 3 feet of water. Blew out everything. Lucky the generator didn't kick on - otherwise major electrocution.
So we sit around and wait. The kids have already packed their stuff and are ready to go - but WSH (Western State) has to prepare a place for us.
Oh, and did I mention that the doors in our building are electronic/magnetic? No power=no locks. We had a couple of kids realize that and run out, but not too much of mass chaos. Until administration told us to discharge as many kids as we could. That meant us social workers had to do work. With no phones. And no lights. And we had to call people to come get their kids? Hello cell phone minutes.
The flood happened shortly before 6am. Kids were told to get ready to move at 8am. Actual move occurred at 3:30pm. We load the kids up on little buses and head down the hill to our new digs. Which SUCK.
Keep in mind we're a mental health hospital. So everything is safe - no sharp anything, sprinklers out of reach, ceiling tiles out of reach, etc.
New digs - not so much. Low ceilings (I could reach them) with exposed sprinklers and lights, and kids had to bunk up with each other instead of having their own room. There were also no offices for any of the doctors, social workers, or admin staff. Most people were just milling about. Then we hear that our new digs are temporary, and they're working on another building.
Friday the 6th, we move again. After a coworker and I bust our asses helping to clean, move furniture, make beds, and get stuff from our orignial building. While several of my coworkers sat on their butts.
So Friday we move the kids AGAIN. And our stuff. AGAIN. Now we're here for the duration. This building is slightly better than the last, but still not as great as our original. We didn't have computer access until Tuesday. All of our work goes on an intranet site, shared folders, etc., which made things difficult until we got a computer again. I now have to share an office with 2 people instead of just one. I think I'm going to kill them both before it's over with.
Now the rumor is that the flood was 5 or 6 feet deep in the basement. Fact is that a water main broke where it comes into our building. It flooded out our entire mechanical system, our heating system, and our phones. They have to replace the boilers, get the electric up and running again, they've already fixed the broken pipe, and they have to redo the phone and internet stuff. We've been told it could be 3 months in this building.
The up side - this place has tunnels running from building to building. And the building next to us is empty - so it's pretty fun to go exploring. And my boss is no longer located in the same building as me, so we're having a good time.
Not a drill.
I go into the main hallway which is COMPLETELY dark. Now mind you, we usually have a generator, which gets things up and running if the power goes out. There were no lights. And initially in the main hallway there aren't any windows. Oh joy.
I'm getting to the reason - gimme a second.
I check in with the nurse. I ask what the heck is going on. She says "we're evacuating down to Western State." I said "Are the kids already down there?" No. They're sitting in the dark on the unit. Luckily though - on the unit - there's a skylight and various windows.
Then I get with some of my other social work peeps to discuss.
The basement flooded. Rumor has it - 3 feet of water. Blew out everything. Lucky the generator didn't kick on - otherwise major electrocution.
So we sit around and wait. The kids have already packed their stuff and are ready to go - but WSH (Western State) has to prepare a place for us.
Oh, and did I mention that the doors in our building are electronic/magnetic? No power=no locks. We had a couple of kids realize that and run out, but not too much of mass chaos. Until administration told us to discharge as many kids as we could. That meant us social workers had to do work. With no phones. And no lights. And we had to call people to come get their kids? Hello cell phone minutes.
The flood happened shortly before 6am. Kids were told to get ready to move at 8am. Actual move occurred at 3:30pm. We load the kids up on little buses and head down the hill to our new digs. Which SUCK.
Keep in mind we're a mental health hospital. So everything is safe - no sharp anything, sprinklers out of reach, ceiling tiles out of reach, etc.
New digs - not so much. Low ceilings (I could reach them) with exposed sprinklers and lights, and kids had to bunk up with each other instead of having their own room. There were also no offices for any of the doctors, social workers, or admin staff. Most people were just milling about. Then we hear that our new digs are temporary, and they're working on another building.
Friday the 6th, we move again. After a coworker and I bust our asses helping to clean, move furniture, make beds, and get stuff from our orignial building. While several of my coworkers sat on their butts.
So Friday we move the kids AGAIN. And our stuff. AGAIN. Now we're here for the duration. This building is slightly better than the last, but still not as great as our original. We didn't have computer access until Tuesday. All of our work goes on an intranet site, shared folders, etc., which made things difficult until we got a computer again. I now have to share an office with 2 people instead of just one. I think I'm going to kill them both before it's over with.
Now the rumor is that the flood was 5 or 6 feet deep in the basement. Fact is that a water main broke where it comes into our building. It flooded out our entire mechanical system, our heating system, and our phones. They have to replace the boilers, get the electric up and running again, they've already fixed the broken pipe, and they have to redo the phone and internet stuff. We've been told it could be 3 months in this building.
The up side - this place has tunnels running from building to building. And the building next to us is empty - so it's pretty fun to go exploring. And my boss is no longer located in the same building as me, so we're having a good time.
Monday, October 05, 2009
Violet! You're turning Violet, Violet!
So Kim bought me a Wii on Friday night. Needless to say, I've been playing it rather frequently since. And the sad thing is that I only have 2 games so far - one being the game that it comes with, and the other being fishing. I love fishing. It's fantastic. Kim was laughing at me last night fighting to reel in the big one. I plan on going home tonight to fish some more. Or play golf. Or bowling. I'm not sure yet. Maybe all of the above.
In other news, Gee Gee (grandmother) has surgery on Thursday for her breast cancer. So I'll be driving down to Richmond after work, and then back to Harrisonburg that same night. Good times. Expect a phone call - since I often call while driving.
I went to Nicolas' 12th birthday party on Saturday. I can't believe he's already 12. Which means that it's almost been 10 years since I (we) graduated from JMU. Where in the world has the time gone? When did I get old? Speaking of old - I keep discovering more and more gray hair. This is NOT fun.
Maybe I'll start coloring my hair. Yeah right. That'll happen the same time I decide to cut it differently and style it in the morning and use a blowdryer and hair product.
hahahahahahahaha
I signed up for this 5K in Harrisonburg the weekend of the 24th. I'm hoping a certain New Jersey someone will come down that weekend and walk/run it with me... (hint hint). Or if the New Jersey someone doesn't want to participate, they could cheer me on - it should only take about 45 minutes if I run it, so not a huge chunk out of the day - and plenty of time for us to do something ridiculous in the afternoon. HINT HINT.
Speaking of hints, I wonder what my surprise is....
Why do I feel like I'm just writing an email to Cristina?
I feel I should sign off with some witty quotation, but I can't think of anything. All I could come up with initially was one of my favorite lines from Willy Wonka, which I promptly put as my title. So maybe you'll get a quote next time.
In other news, Gee Gee (grandmother) has surgery on Thursday for her breast cancer. So I'll be driving down to Richmond after work, and then back to Harrisonburg that same night. Good times. Expect a phone call - since I often call while driving.
I went to Nicolas' 12th birthday party on Saturday. I can't believe he's already 12. Which means that it's almost been 10 years since I (we) graduated from JMU. Where in the world has the time gone? When did I get old? Speaking of old - I keep discovering more and more gray hair. This is NOT fun.
Maybe I'll start coloring my hair. Yeah right. That'll happen the same time I decide to cut it differently and style it in the morning and use a blowdryer and hair product.
hahahahahahahaha
I signed up for this 5K in Harrisonburg the weekend of the 24th. I'm hoping a certain New Jersey someone will come down that weekend and walk/run it with me... (hint hint). Or if the New Jersey someone doesn't want to participate, they could cheer me on - it should only take about 45 minutes if I run it, so not a huge chunk out of the day - and plenty of time for us to do something ridiculous in the afternoon. HINT HINT.
Speaking of hints, I wonder what my surprise is....
Why do I feel like I'm just writing an email to Cristina?
I feel I should sign off with some witty quotation, but I can't think of anything. All I could come up with initially was one of my favorite lines from Willy Wonka, which I promptly put as my title. So maybe you'll get a quote next time.
Monday, September 14, 2009
there's a lot of this going around
On Friday night, I get a facebook message from an old high school peep, asking me if I heard the news that a good high school friend had passed away. I hadn't heard. So I got the full story, and felt like crap-o-la, and all I've done all weekend is think about her.
I had known Heidi for what seems like forever. I don't recall her in kindergarten, but I do remember her from first grade on. In small rural counties you pretty much have the same people in your class year after year until graduation. So Heidi and I were in classes until our Junior year. 6th grade Heidi's dad died. We were getting ready to go on a field trip for school, and they came and got her off the bus and told her. He had been in a car accident. She was the youngest of 3 kids. Her brother Fleming was a year older. In 6th grade, we all pretty much avoided the topic of her dad dying. We didn't really understand grief or how to help a friend cope - we were all too young to figure it out.
I have a lot of fun/good memories of her. I remember sleeping over at her house and singing along to "Walk like an Egyptian" on her pocket rocker. Or climbing up in the treehouse. I remember Heidi "going with" Trevor for what seemed like years, but was only in reality a couple months in 6th grade. I remember my boyfriend breaking up with me to ask her out, but he was too shy so I asked her for him. Hilarious. That was also in 6th grade. Heidi was always first chair clarinet, and I was jealous. Until I finally beat her out for it at some point in high school. I think sophomore year. Then the next year I don't think she was in band anymore. Heidi always got straight A's, and she would've been one of our valedictorians. We had 3 but I digress. Sophomore year, Heidi decided she was going to graduate early. I remember trying to talk her out of it, but she was determined. She graduated with her brother, while the rest of us were still Juniors. In short, Heidi was smart, pretty, fun, and seemed to have a lot going for her. But I guess her internal issues started well before any of us knew. And then she graduated.
I lost touch with her after that. I know that 2 years later she had a kid. And married a guy who was rumored to be a jerk. Her brother suffered from depression, and on one night held Heidi and her mom hostage in their house with a gun. He threatened to kill himself. Law enforcement was called and they did nothing. Fleming shot himself that night, and when law enforcement arrived, Heidi assaulted them for not having responded to their earlier calls. She was found guilty of felony assault on an officer. Then I really don't know what happened with her. I heard through the grapevine that she made poor decisions, but that was about it. I always wondered where she was and what she was doing, and frequently tried to find her through Yahoo, Facebook, and MySpace, but never did.
Turns out she had some serious drug issues. On Friday the 4th, she drank a 5th of liquor and then injected insulin and succeeded in her suicide attempt, leaving behind her now 13 year old son. I don't know what was going on that made her decide this was her only option, but it makes me sad. Her mom didn't put an obituary in the paper because she didn't want people to know that her youngest child also committed suicide.
It's a hard thing for me to come to terms with because this is the first death of someone I knew for pretty much ever. I mean, we had people die when I was in school, but this is different. She was my friend, and although we lost touch over the years, I still thought about her frequently. At some point this week, I plan on pulling out all of my old pictures and making copies of them to send to her mom. I don't know if it will help her or make things worse, but it might be nice for her to have some reminder of when things were happy with Heidi. I'm glad that those are the memories I have, even though I wish we hadn't lost touch.
And now I wonder who else knows, or doesn't know. I feel like there are others who would like to know, but at the same time, I want to respect her mother's wishes. It's not an easy thing to admit to people that someone killed themself. I may ask Stephanie - who was the one who told me.
I think what really gets me though - is that Stephanie's message to me on FB was this: "Did you know that Heidi passed away? She always thought so much of you."
And it kills me. I almost feel guilty for not having kept in touch. Not that I think I could've saved her, but I could of at least been a better friend. Well, that and I always thought so much of her, but now she won't know.
I had known Heidi for what seems like forever. I don't recall her in kindergarten, but I do remember her from first grade on. In small rural counties you pretty much have the same people in your class year after year until graduation. So Heidi and I were in classes until our Junior year. 6th grade Heidi's dad died. We were getting ready to go on a field trip for school, and they came and got her off the bus and told her. He had been in a car accident. She was the youngest of 3 kids. Her brother Fleming was a year older. In 6th grade, we all pretty much avoided the topic of her dad dying. We didn't really understand grief or how to help a friend cope - we were all too young to figure it out.
I have a lot of fun/good memories of her. I remember sleeping over at her house and singing along to "Walk like an Egyptian" on her pocket rocker. Or climbing up in the treehouse. I remember Heidi "going with" Trevor for what seemed like years, but was only in reality a couple months in 6th grade. I remember my boyfriend breaking up with me to ask her out, but he was too shy so I asked her for him. Hilarious. That was also in 6th grade. Heidi was always first chair clarinet, and I was jealous. Until I finally beat her out for it at some point in high school. I think sophomore year. Then the next year I don't think she was in band anymore. Heidi always got straight A's, and she would've been one of our valedictorians. We had 3 but I digress. Sophomore year, Heidi decided she was going to graduate early. I remember trying to talk her out of it, but she was determined. She graduated with her brother, while the rest of us were still Juniors. In short, Heidi was smart, pretty, fun, and seemed to have a lot going for her. But I guess her internal issues started well before any of us knew. And then she graduated.
I lost touch with her after that. I know that 2 years later she had a kid. And married a guy who was rumored to be a jerk. Her brother suffered from depression, and on one night held Heidi and her mom hostage in their house with a gun. He threatened to kill himself. Law enforcement was called and they did nothing. Fleming shot himself that night, and when law enforcement arrived, Heidi assaulted them for not having responded to their earlier calls. She was found guilty of felony assault on an officer. Then I really don't know what happened with her. I heard through the grapevine that she made poor decisions, but that was about it. I always wondered where she was and what she was doing, and frequently tried to find her through Yahoo, Facebook, and MySpace, but never did.
Turns out she had some serious drug issues. On Friday the 4th, she drank a 5th of liquor and then injected insulin and succeeded in her suicide attempt, leaving behind her now 13 year old son. I don't know what was going on that made her decide this was her only option, but it makes me sad. Her mom didn't put an obituary in the paper because she didn't want people to know that her youngest child also committed suicide.
It's a hard thing for me to come to terms with because this is the first death of someone I knew for pretty much ever. I mean, we had people die when I was in school, but this is different. She was my friend, and although we lost touch over the years, I still thought about her frequently. At some point this week, I plan on pulling out all of my old pictures and making copies of them to send to her mom. I don't know if it will help her or make things worse, but it might be nice for her to have some reminder of when things were happy with Heidi. I'm glad that those are the memories I have, even though I wish we hadn't lost touch.
And now I wonder who else knows, or doesn't know. I feel like there are others who would like to know, but at the same time, I want to respect her mother's wishes. It's not an easy thing to admit to people that someone killed themself. I may ask Stephanie - who was the one who told me.
I think what really gets me though - is that Stephanie's message to me on FB was this: "Did you know that Heidi passed away? She always thought so much of you."
And it kills me. I almost feel guilty for not having kept in touch. Not that I think I could've saved her, but I could of at least been a better friend. Well, that and I always thought so much of her, but now she won't know.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Run Forrest! Run!
I am going to run a 5 miler (8K) in November. I have no idea what possessed me to sign up. Although I have been running on the treadmill at the gym. And thanks to my buddy Eli, he advised me on what I need to be doing to lose weight. Which basically boils down to I need to do cardio out the wahzoo. On Friday I was on the treadmill for 40 minutes, which is a record for me. I almost died, but it was okay. I ran for 4 minutes and then would walk for 1. I did take a couple of really quick water breaks, but that was it. Then yesterday, I did the same 4 minute/1 minute deal, only for 45 minutes. I'm waiting for the pounds to magically disappear. But I'm trying to wait at least a week before I get on the scale. We'll see how long I last before I cheat.
And actually today I kept thinking that I want to go run after work. I don't know what's happened to me.
In other news, I have an intern assigned to me at work. She's fun. And I've decided that I'm not going to sugarcoat things and beat around the bush. I'm going to tell her exactly who she needs to watch out for and why. I'm going to tell her that Andrea will try and get her to do her work for her, and that Barb will try and get her to translate everything the entire time. A coworker thought I should be more dipolmatic about it, but I just can't. I have to tell her exactly - for fear that others will take advantage of her. And she's my intern to corrupt, not theirs. Dangit.
And actually today I kept thinking that I want to go run after work. I don't know what's happened to me.
In other news, I have an intern assigned to me at work. She's fun. And I've decided that I'm not going to sugarcoat things and beat around the bush. I'm going to tell her exactly who she needs to watch out for and why. I'm going to tell her that Andrea will try and get her to do her work for her, and that Barb will try and get her to translate everything the entire time. A coworker thought I should be more dipolmatic about it, but I just can't. I have to tell her exactly - for fear that others will take advantage of her. And she's my intern to corrupt, not theirs. Dangit.
Monday, August 03, 2009
getting back to my roots
i do it for the joy it brings
because i'm a joyful girl
because the world owes me nothing
and we owe each other the world
i do it because it's the least i can do
i do it because i learned it from you
and i do it just because i want to
because i want to
everything i do is judged
and they mostly get it wrong
but oh well
'cuz the bathroom mirror has not budged
and the woman who lives there can tell
the truth from the stuff that they say
and she looks me in the eye and says
would you prefer the easy way
no, well o.k. then
don't cry
i wonder if everything i do
i do instead of something i want to do more
the question fills my head
i know there's no grand plan here
this is just the way it goes
when everything else seems unclear
i guess at least i know
i do it for the joy it brings
because i'm a joyful girl
because the world owes me nothing
and we owe each other the world
i do it because it's the least i can do
i do it because i learned it from you
and i do it just because i want to
because i want to
- Ani DiFranco Joyful Girl
because i'm a joyful girl
because the world owes me nothing
and we owe each other the world
i do it because it's the least i can do
i do it because i learned it from you
and i do it just because i want to
because i want to
everything i do is judged
and they mostly get it wrong
but oh well
'cuz the bathroom mirror has not budged
and the woman who lives there can tell
the truth from the stuff that they say
and she looks me in the eye and says
would you prefer the easy way
no, well o.k. then
don't cry
i wonder if everything i do
i do instead of something i want to do more
the question fills my head
i know there's no grand plan here
this is just the way it goes
when everything else seems unclear
i guess at least i know
i do it for the joy it brings
because i'm a joyful girl
because the world owes me nothing
and we owe each other the world
i do it because it's the least i can do
i do it because i learned it from you
and i do it just because i want to
because i want to
- Ani DiFranco Joyful Girl
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Anal Annie (that sounds like a bad porn)
I got my new tattoo, and I really like it. But since I haven't succumbed to societal norms, I don't have a digital camera with which to take a photo of it and then post it on here. I rely on my sister for that. Hopefully it will get done this weekend when I go home for birthday dinner. Don't get me wrong - I want a digital camera, but I'm so anal, I want a really expensive one, and refuse to buy a smaller cheaper one.
I love birthday dinner. My mom makes my favorite food, and favorite cake, and I get to spend time with the fam. Minus Kim of course, being the recluse she is. But that's okay. I'm kind of selfish about my family and my birthday, so I like it with just us. It's probably because when I was younger, I didn't get to have a birthday "party" with lots of friends. Mom and Dad would let me have one friend over and that was it. It also never helped that my birthday was in the summer. In fact, the one party I had (following my graduation from JMU) was a complete disaster. Remember that Cris? You gave me a pogo stick - which was the highlight of the entire event. It was actually a double birthday party held for me and Becca. I really think that I was just an afterthought - Thea and Kirsten had it in Kirsten's apartment. Maybe 2 weeks after K. cheated on me with T. Becca was probably the one who said they should have it for me too. MISERABLE. I only agreed to go because of Becca. Thank goodness Cris went with me, otherwise it would've been a complete horror story. But I digress.
I love birthday dinner with the fam.
The beach with Peyton and my sister was fun. However, I think I don't want kids of my own now. And I'm okay with that. I like hanging out with them, playing with kids, being a kid, and then letting them go home at the end of the day. I just don't want them full time. I don't want to be that responsible, or that patient. I am definitely NOT that patient.
I had my one year evaluation at work, and I'm no longer on my initial probationary period. YAY!! In fact, afterwards, my supervisor emailed me and told me she's glad I'm here. That made me feel all warm and fuzzy. And since I've been here, I've gotten flowers from a family, and one family sent a letter praising me to my supervisor. It boosts my ego a little (not that it needs it sometimes), but it makes me feel like I'm doing a worthwhile thing here, as opposed to what I was doing at CPS. And now that I'm starting to like a handful of people here, it's working in my favor.
Blogging is tedious. Maybe I should invest in a digital camera so I can just post pictures all the time instead of actually writing anything.
I've decided I'm a pretty anal/OCD person. I had to go to walmart today because I lost my last pen at work and I refuse to write with the crappy state issued ones. Did I mention that I have a whole box of my pens at home, and couldn't just wait until tomorrow to bring one to work?
Okay I'm done. Was that fast enough for you missy?
I love birthday dinner. My mom makes my favorite food, and favorite cake, and I get to spend time with the fam. Minus Kim of course, being the recluse she is. But that's okay. I'm kind of selfish about my family and my birthday, so I like it with just us. It's probably because when I was younger, I didn't get to have a birthday "party" with lots of friends. Mom and Dad would let me have one friend over and that was it. It also never helped that my birthday was in the summer. In fact, the one party I had (following my graduation from JMU) was a complete disaster. Remember that Cris? You gave me a pogo stick - which was the highlight of the entire event. It was actually a double birthday party held for me and Becca. I really think that I was just an afterthought - Thea and Kirsten had it in Kirsten's apartment. Maybe 2 weeks after K. cheated on me with T. Becca was probably the one who said they should have it for me too. MISERABLE. I only agreed to go because of Becca. Thank goodness Cris went with me, otherwise it would've been a complete horror story. But I digress.
I love birthday dinner with the fam.
The beach with Peyton and my sister was fun. However, I think I don't want kids of my own now. And I'm okay with that. I like hanging out with them, playing with kids, being a kid, and then letting them go home at the end of the day. I just don't want them full time. I don't want to be that responsible, or that patient. I am definitely NOT that patient.
I had my one year evaluation at work, and I'm no longer on my initial probationary period. YAY!! In fact, afterwards, my supervisor emailed me and told me she's glad I'm here. That made me feel all warm and fuzzy. And since I've been here, I've gotten flowers from a family, and one family sent a letter praising me to my supervisor. It boosts my ego a little (not that it needs it sometimes), but it makes me feel like I'm doing a worthwhile thing here, as opposed to what I was doing at CPS. And now that I'm starting to like a handful of people here, it's working in my favor.
Blogging is tedious. Maybe I should invest in a digital camera so I can just post pictures all the time instead of actually writing anything.
I've decided I'm a pretty anal/OCD person. I had to go to walmart today because I lost my last pen at work and I refuse to write with the crappy state issued ones. Did I mention that I have a whole box of my pens at home, and couldn't just wait until tomorrow to bring one to work?
Okay I'm done. Was that fast enough for you missy?
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