Blog-reading folks, I have not written in forever, and I give you my sincerest of apologies.
I have been way preoccupied with my job and fantastic romantic friend, Alan.
Labor Day weekend, we drove down to NC to visit my family, which was lovely but definitely stressful, and the weekend prior, my mother was up here visiting, which was really just wonderful, but busy-ish. I'm finally settling down for fall, hoping to have a lot more time to just relax and hang out than I have this summer--it has just been nuts! Though it's beginning to look like the next couple months, too, will be crazy.
I am totally loving my job, more and more each week. I definitely have a lot of work to do, but I am feeling even more like I just need to deal with it step by step, and the more I understand, the more possible it all seems that I can truly make a difference and actually enjoy this. I more or less like the people I work with. And despite some of the craziness of the Ryan Center, it is a place that I have some respect for, in terms of mission and intention. There are some fantastically hard-working people there, and things could certainly be a lot worse. Every day, I feel so incredibly fortunate to have found a job that I like as much as I do this one, and one that I feel fulfilled by, that can tap into all of my skills and abilities. I know that not everyone, and especially not everyone my age, is so lucky.
I'm finally also getting my room straightened out--I bought a lamp (immediately before the overhead bulb went out--what amazing timing!!), and a new Ikea bed base that makes my bed actually feel like a bed instead of a hard slab. I didn't realize what a different that would make either--I woke up this morning without the body pain I've become accustomed to (I didn't even recognize it as a problem).
So I'm excited. And as the heat is dying down, my room is more and more comfortable. Soon, I will be complaining about the cold. Oh, joy!
I know this is short, but I've got some Dexter to watch before sleepy-time. Here's to another wonderfully stressful (perfect amount of stress) week!
Showing posts with label Ryan Center. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ryan Center. Show all posts
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Monday, August 16, 2010
Longest Monday in Years
I guess I have a real job now--I'm heading home a bit after 8 (that was my cut-off point for myself, but I wanted to get more done), I got to work at 9am and I only took a 30 minute lunch. So I literally worked 10 and a half hours. I'm exhausted. And really frustrated everyone has a lot on their plate, and I'm not trying to put more. But I am working my ass off and people don't even call me back to let things start moving so that we can actually get credit for all the work we've been doing. If I weren't so exhausted, I'd scream.
I do get paid my new, big pay check this week. Hopefully that'll cheer me up a bit. But I'm just so tired!! And I want to talk to my mommy and see her, and she will be here when we're trying to tie things up with this huge year-end of a grant that is the reason I was at work for 3 extra hours.
Mostly I'm just upset that I am ending up being responsible for cleaning up other peoples messes. And now I'm pissy because seriously, iPhone??? You know your own name, but you won't let me type a possessive plural of people??! So I look like I don't know grammar, when it is YOU, my love, who lacks in their knowledge. Am I incorrect about that? Someone let me know. I'm done now, before I say anything too stupid. (hopefully haven't crossed that line).
Just be glad you're, my beloved friends, not near me physically right now. I'm simply not in a pleasant mood.
I do get paid my new, big pay check this week. Hopefully that'll cheer me up a bit. But I'm just so tired!! And I want to talk to my mommy and see her, and she will be here when we're trying to tie things up with this huge year-end of a grant that is the reason I was at work for 3 extra hours.
Mostly I'm just upset that I am ending up being responsible for cleaning up other peoples messes. And now I'm pissy because seriously, iPhone??? You know your own name, but you won't let me type a possessive plural of people??! So I look like I don't know grammar, when it is YOU, my love, who lacks in their knowledge. Am I incorrect about that? Someone let me know. I'm done now, before I say anything too stupid. (hopefully haven't crossed that line).
Just be glad you're, my beloved friends, not near me physically right now. I'm simply not in a pleasant mood.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Incongruence
I got in a disagreement with a coworker yesterday. It was really stupid (the disagreement), but it was one more straw on a stack that's building. And I wanted to lessen that, but instead I added my own stack.
I have been frustrated before about the sociological implications of my job, and my having more social power but not any more technical power in the work place. Maybe not articulated exactly that way, but that's how I see if now. But this truly takes the cake, AND I think I didn't realize how unaligned my view of the world is with several of the folks I work with. Now, we have several Case Managers (6?), several of whom I get along quite well with, at least I think. But there are two with whom I have seen more potential for difficulty--I'll call them R and C. Both of these women fall into the categories of black women who are former drug users, have cleaned up and gotten Bachelor's degrees, and a great union job. There is one other coworker who fits into this category (we'll call her B). But for whatever reason, I have seen R and C are much more intimidated?
So I have had not really any difficulty with C (though she can be frustrating to deal with), perhaps because I have skated around her as though I could see the ice cracking already. But I felt more comfortable with R from the beginning, which I think ironically made things more dangerous. Once EMR began and everyone started asking me questions about computers ALL THE TIME (not complaining, just noting), she would call me and I would answer, "What?" because I wanted people to get to the point. Not the most professional, I realize, but actually I think it was an attempt to communicate like my coworkers (in a joking way), just the way I interpreted it. Which was not appreciated. She informed me; I have not since answered any of her phone calls or yelling out from her desk with, "What?"
Then a few months ago, all of our supervisors were gone except for a very high-up supervisor, and I made the mistake? of telling him what I wad doing. R told me that he doesn't need to be involved in our business, that we do our own thing and keep to ourselves. Which, to me, is bizarre. I come from the assumption that authority is here to protect us, to make sure everything that needs to get done, does. Which really is what all this boils down to. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
So yesterday R comes over to me and asks in a very flustered manner what we were supposed to be doing with a particular list. I had created a set of directions to do what needed to be done (which she didn't actually know), but before I told her that, I did not want her to be mad. I mean, she can be mad, but I didn't want to be talking to someone who was so flustered, even as it was not directed towards me. So I made a huge mistake. Huge. And also very preventable, had I taken two seconds to think about it, and reacted to her as a person unlike me. But no, I told her to take a breath. Bad move. Did I make that clear yet??
She told me not to talk to her "like that," to never mind and walked away. Whoops. Now, part of me really wishes I just had never said anything. But I also feel frustrated in not being able to be myself. In not being around people who are self-assured enough to shrug off my telling them to take a breath, or who can take a breath and laugh, or whatever. My intention was not to infer that she did not know how to calm herself down, but that we all need a reminder sometimes. And also that I don't talk to people who are upset. I won't. That is my limit. And I was trying to convey that in as inoffensive way as possible. But I guess it backfired.
So what I realized it that there is just a huge incongruence in how I view authority an how R does. Asking our supervisor to mediate a conversation did not help. Why did I think it would? She spent the conversation telling me she thinks I look down on her (I actually believe "us" was the word used), and that she was concerned about her job because I brought our supervisor in (though the supervisor made quite clear that she was not there in a supervisory nor disciplinary manner). Despite being I a union. Despite having done nothing wrong. Certainly nothing punishment-worthy. Despite my actually asking HER for information about what I could do differently that would help. Despite all that, she felt threatened. And like I think I'm better than her. And that I have power that she does not. And you know what? She's right. Not about my being better than her, but that I have more power. I am affluent, if not in my finances, in my vocabulary, in my demeanor, in my confidence and sense of empowerment. And that all counts for a lot, and goes to show you that poverty is about a hell of a lot more than money. It is disturbing to me that an adult reacted as she did to the entire situation, but I have to remember that she's coming from such a different world. A world where adults and other figures of authority are not to be trusted, and do not have your best intentions in mind.
I am so lucky to not be from that world. But I'm living in it right now, and talk about culture shock, in truly the most depressing way possible. It is a world of no hope, and distrust of but unavoidable reliance upon authority figures. Fear, uncertainty and doubt. This is America, dystopia-style.
I have been frustrated before about the sociological implications of my job, and my having more social power but not any more technical power in the work place. Maybe not articulated exactly that way, but that's how I see if now. But this truly takes the cake, AND I think I didn't realize how unaligned my view of the world is with several of the folks I work with. Now, we have several Case Managers (6?), several of whom I get along quite well with, at least I think. But there are two with whom I have seen more potential for difficulty--I'll call them R and C. Both of these women fall into the categories of black women who are former drug users, have cleaned up and gotten Bachelor's degrees, and a great union job. There is one other coworker who fits into this category (we'll call her B). But for whatever reason, I have seen R and C are much more intimidated?
So I have had not really any difficulty with C (though she can be frustrating to deal with), perhaps because I have skated around her as though I could see the ice cracking already. But I felt more comfortable with R from the beginning, which I think ironically made things more dangerous. Once EMR began and everyone started asking me questions about computers ALL THE TIME (not complaining, just noting), she would call me and I would answer, "What?" because I wanted people to get to the point. Not the most professional, I realize, but actually I think it was an attempt to communicate like my coworkers (in a joking way), just the way I interpreted it. Which was not appreciated. She informed me; I have not since answered any of her phone calls or yelling out from her desk with, "What?"
Then a few months ago, all of our supervisors were gone except for a very high-up supervisor, and I made the mistake? of telling him what I wad doing. R told me that he doesn't need to be involved in our business, that we do our own thing and keep to ourselves. Which, to me, is bizarre. I come from the assumption that authority is here to protect us, to make sure everything that needs to get done, does. Which really is what all this boils down to. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
So yesterday R comes over to me and asks in a very flustered manner what we were supposed to be doing with a particular list. I had created a set of directions to do what needed to be done (which she didn't actually know), but before I told her that, I did not want her to be mad. I mean, she can be mad, but I didn't want to be talking to someone who was so flustered, even as it was not directed towards me. So I made a huge mistake. Huge. And also very preventable, had I taken two seconds to think about it, and reacted to her as a person unlike me. But no, I told her to take a breath. Bad move. Did I make that clear yet??
She told me not to talk to her "like that," to never mind and walked away. Whoops. Now, part of me really wishes I just had never said anything. But I also feel frustrated in not being able to be myself. In not being around people who are self-assured enough to shrug off my telling them to take a breath, or who can take a breath and laugh, or whatever. My intention was not to infer that she did not know how to calm herself down, but that we all need a reminder sometimes. And also that I don't talk to people who are upset. I won't. That is my limit. And I was trying to convey that in as inoffensive way as possible. But I guess it backfired.
So what I realized it that there is just a huge incongruence in how I view authority an how R does. Asking our supervisor to mediate a conversation did not help. Why did I think it would? She spent the conversation telling me she thinks I look down on her (I actually believe "us" was the word used), and that she was concerned about her job because I brought our supervisor in (though the supervisor made quite clear that she was not there in a supervisory nor disciplinary manner). Despite being I a union. Despite having done nothing wrong. Certainly nothing punishment-worthy. Despite my actually asking HER for information about what I could do differently that would help. Despite all that, she felt threatened. And like I think I'm better than her. And that I have power that she does not. And you know what? She's right. Not about my being better than her, but that I have more power. I am affluent, if not in my finances, in my vocabulary, in my demeanor, in my confidence and sense of empowerment. And that all counts for a lot, and goes to show you that poverty is about a hell of a lot more than money. It is disturbing to me that an adult reacted as she did to the entire situation, but I have to remember that she's coming from such a different world. A world where adults and other figures of authority are not to be trusted, and do not have your best intentions in mind.
I am so lucky to not be from that world. But I'm living in it right now, and talk about culture shock, in truly the most depressing way possible. It is a world of no hope, and distrust of but unavoidable reliance upon authority figures. Fear, uncertainty and doubt. This is America, dystopia-style.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
This would be my Facebook status if it weren't so long
Another New York City story. This one is kind of sad.
This morning was way busy at work (yay!), and I ended up going to the pharmacy with a client to get his medications. Well, we're in the Rite Aid, and as the pharmacist is explaining that the client will actually have to pay for one of the things, and it will cost maybe $4-6, he is saying he doesn't have $5, which is pathetic but probably true (at least sort of, like, at least not $5 to spare), and this older woman at the same moment is getting her reciept while picking up her prescription, and notes that the reciept is extremely long and what a waste of paper that is (wait until she looks at the printed information that you get with EVERY REFILL. Talk about wasted paper). But I was just so struck by the contrasted concerns--my patient upset because Medicaid won't pay $5 for something, and this woman totally distressed that the Rite Aid was wasting so much paper. Perfectly New York.
It's definitely sad. And also hilariously demonstrative of how effed up our country is. How much we waste and yet, can only help people a small bit. I also should note that today alone I had two patients say they think AIDS is a conspiracy by "them" to kill black people or make money by not using the cure that he was convinced they already have developed.
Sometimes I think I'm really naive. I totally give people the benefit of the doubt; assume they are logical. But actually, most people don't understand much about the world. Probably myself included. I try and explain to people that no one is actually out to get them. They probably don't believe me. Or, worse, think I'm "them." Not that I approve of how the world is or works. But the feeling and effects of dis-empowerment is quite striking.
This morning was way busy at work (yay!), and I ended up going to the pharmacy with a client to get his medications. Well, we're in the Rite Aid, and as the pharmacist is explaining that the client will actually have to pay for one of the things, and it will cost maybe $4-6, he is saying he doesn't have $5, which is pathetic but probably true (at least sort of, like, at least not $5 to spare), and this older woman at the same moment is getting her reciept while picking up her prescription, and notes that the reciept is extremely long and what a waste of paper that is (wait until she looks at the printed information that you get with EVERY REFILL. Talk about wasted paper). But I was just so struck by the contrasted concerns--my patient upset because Medicaid won't pay $5 for something, and this woman totally distressed that the Rite Aid was wasting so much paper. Perfectly New York.
It's definitely sad. And also hilariously demonstrative of how effed up our country is. How much we waste and yet, can only help people a small bit. I also should note that today alone I had two patients say they think AIDS is a conspiracy by "them" to kill black people or make money by not using the cure that he was convinced they already have developed.
Sometimes I think I'm really naive. I totally give people the benefit of the doubt; assume they are logical. But actually, most people don't understand much about the world. Probably myself included. I try and explain to people that no one is actually out to get them. They probably don't believe me. Or, worse, think I'm "them." Not that I approve of how the world is or works. But the feeling and effects of dis-empowerment is quite striking.
Friday, May 21, 2010
There's Always Hope, Even When It's Hard to See
Today was a fantastically emotionally exhausting day. I accompanied a patient downtown to housing court. I'll leave out the details, but she lives in NYCHA (New York City Housing Authority) and is getting evicted due to not following the rules. She's had several chances, and this is sort of the last straw. It's possible she'll be able to stay, but also possible she'll be kicked out. And then she would quite literally be homeless. This is a patient who I feel some strange pull towards--there are those people, you know, who you meet and just feel somewhat drawn to. I always (nearly) feel empathy for people, but she I feel more than most. She's had a hard life--lots of abuse, shit that is just not fair, and despite that she has worked, gotten schooling to do some things, but it just sort of hasn't worked out. She keeps such a positive-seeming attitude, but is also (I think) pretty depressed. Just that she has quite good reasons to be so.
Anyhow, it felt like a death march to me. And that was just kind of sad. She told me some more about her life, which was sad. And the actual hearing wasn't so bad--I think she has a shot at keeping the apartment (though I'm really unclear as to how all of these things work). So we were on the train heading back, after she'd been a bit tearful on and off the whole trip, and she says to me, "thank you so much for coming with me, I would have froze up if you hadn't been there." And something about it just made me want to burst into tears. This woman has had such a hard time. And lord knows she's made her own dumb decisions, and I certainly don't think that deserves any kind of free and clear pass, but I think her biggest fault is letting people walk all over her, because she feels so powerless (and has been) to do anything about it. And I just went with her. Not even representing her in any legal way or anything (obviously, as I am not a lawyer), and she was so appreciative of my coming. By making this simple trip, I made her feel special. It just kind of broke my heart. And reminded me what a difference I can make. That part is nice.
After the trip downtown, I went to a meeting for a project I'll be volunteering for that I'm actually pretty psyched about. It's a microfinance consulting company who is doing a research project on illegal Mexican migrants' remittances and how they might be better spent, particularly on insurance (life, health, lost wages due to illness). So we had a fun little brainstorming meeting about the survey we'll be using, and I really got to be quite a huge part of the question development, which is kind of cool. I'm a bit disappointed I won't be able to go to the regular meeting more (since I have to actually "work"), but I'll be able at least to do the surveys on weekends and be sort of in the loop, and they said they may be able to schedule some meetings at times I could actually come. It was so fun to again be working out phrasing of questions, and talking about research questions and how to turn them into questions to really ask people. I missed that. And I get to be sort of the health care/insurance expert. Which is kind of awesome, and I strangely feel like I can totally do that, especially after paying so much attention to the debate over the past year+. It's just exciting to be able to put that into a paper (even if it's just a small part of the background). More later. Sleep now. I am exhausted. Finally I have a weekend to myself--I'm so so so excited to just relax. Just wish it were on my rooftop in Brooklyn....just not yet. But soon!
Anyhow, it felt like a death march to me. And that was just kind of sad. She told me some more about her life, which was sad. And the actual hearing wasn't so bad--I think she has a shot at keeping the apartment (though I'm really unclear as to how all of these things work). So we were on the train heading back, after she'd been a bit tearful on and off the whole trip, and she says to me, "thank you so much for coming with me, I would have froze up if you hadn't been there." And something about it just made me want to burst into tears. This woman has had such a hard time. And lord knows she's made her own dumb decisions, and I certainly don't think that deserves any kind of free and clear pass, but I think her biggest fault is letting people walk all over her, because she feels so powerless (and has been) to do anything about it. And I just went with her. Not even representing her in any legal way or anything (obviously, as I am not a lawyer), and she was so appreciative of my coming. By making this simple trip, I made her feel special. It just kind of broke my heart. And reminded me what a difference I can make. That part is nice.
After the trip downtown, I went to a meeting for a project I'll be volunteering for that I'm actually pretty psyched about. It's a microfinance consulting company who is doing a research project on illegal Mexican migrants' remittances and how they might be better spent, particularly on insurance (life, health, lost wages due to illness). So we had a fun little brainstorming meeting about the survey we'll be using, and I really got to be quite a huge part of the question development, which is kind of cool. I'm a bit disappointed I won't be able to go to the regular meeting more (since I have to actually "work"), but I'll be able at least to do the surveys on weekends and be sort of in the loop, and they said they may be able to schedule some meetings at times I could actually come. It was so fun to again be working out phrasing of questions, and talking about research questions and how to turn them into questions to really ask people. I missed that. And I get to be sort of the health care/insurance expert. Which is kind of awesome, and I strangely feel like I can totally do that, especially after paying so much attention to the debate over the past year+. It's just exciting to be able to put that into a paper (even if it's just a small part of the background). More later. Sleep now. I am exhausted. Finally I have a weekend to myself--I'm so so so excited to just relax. Just wish it were on my rooftop in Brooklyn....just not yet. But soon!
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Craziest Week of 2010
This is a long one. Stick with me. Or skip to the end. It's been a couple weeks since I've updated--I've been way busy. Last week, I went to the NIT semi-finals with my friend, Ryan, who went to UNC also, because UNC played (and won against!) University of Rhode Island. I don't think I'd ever met anyone from Rhode Island. It was a place I didn't really know existed...but anyway, what was totally nuts about the game, besides both teams' awful playing, was that URI's color is identical to UNC's. Which was pretty immediately obvious. And then additionally, their mascot is a RAM!!! Which I guess isn't as crazy as if it were a ram AND a tar heel...but STILL. Crazy. Same color, same mascot. Ryan and I heard this URI chick whining, with the help of surly significant amounts of alcohol, "They stole our color AND our mascot!" We felt similarly. But it was a fun little adventure. Wednesday night I got to spend some time with my lovely roommate, Palmer, scoping out hotties at the Columbia Chipotle before he left for Guyana to bring back some cheap, delicious rum.
Thursday, I left for DC on the most horrific round-trip bus ride experience yet (this is what I get for traveling on a holiday weekend I suppose)--we waited for two hours to get on the bus, which would've been kind of annoying, mostly since my cell phone battery was dying, buuuut was made horrendous because this woman behind me talked THE ENTIRE TIME despite the fact that I had head phones in, listening to the Savage Lovecast (which I get a huge kick out of listening to in public...it feels so dirty, and people have no idea...), and part of the time reading/looking at things on my iPhone. It was quite clear to anyone who cared that I didn't really want to have a full conversation. This lady did not care. I discovered the reason when I noticed about an hour through the wait that her teenage son was with her. He had his headphones in, watching a movie or something and laughed periodically. So she's totally used to having someone ignore her! THAT'S why she breezed past my social cues. Anyway, as we were about to get on the bus, an hour and a half later than we were supposed to leave, she starts bitching at the poor guy loading bags in that we won't get to DC until after midnight, and why are we stopping in Philadelphia, and this is so wrong, and repeat. Finally, her son looks up from his iPod, turns to her and goes, "Mom. No one wants to hear you complain. Everyone is annoyed. Just be quiet!" Though she ignored him, I felt so incredibly bad for him. Or perhaps he's fortunate that he has learned to deal with obnoxious people in a reasonable way (at that point, what he said was INCREDIBLY reasonable). The bus ride itself wasn't awful.
The weekend in DC was wonderful--cherry blossoms were in bloom, and I took the day Friday to explore and photograph them, which was fun. I also got to have lunch with my uncle, which was nice. It was a gorgeous, sunny & even hot day. Later, I got to go on a little adventure with Ali since she ran into (and when I say, "ran into" I mean, DROVE into) a curb when she was trying to pick me up, and blew her tire. I heard it hisssss from across the street. Not cool. Her boyfriend changed the tire to the spare that we didn't know if it would fit (but it did!!) and was just generally, as usual, such a trooper. It all worked out. Not exactly our plan for the afternoon, but whatever.
Friday night, I got to hang out with another friend. More, perhaps, on that later.
Saturday, I went to see Clash of the Titans with Ali, Alex (her boyfriend) and Lacey (my sister). We went in 3-D, which I probably wouldn't do again, but it was entertaining. I wasn't blown away, and definitely wouldn't see it again, but it was worth seeing I suppose. Having not seen the original one, it was like Avatar, without the blue people, and in bad 3-D.
Saturday night I made myself a really nice little dinner and just spent some quality time with Lacey's dog, who is one of my favorites, hanging out. It was actually quite nice. And, as anyone who knows me can attest, I appreciated a full night of sleep. Sunday, I went for a 8.6 mile walk around DC with Lacey and a friend of her's, Jeffery, who works in the White House. We had a really fantastic conversation and delectable brunch in the middle. An excellent way to wrap up the weekend, and to spend Easter (if I celebrated it...).
Returning on the bus was, once again, pretty awful, this time due primarily to traffic.
This week was way crazy. Monday was pretty mundane...Tuesday I was sick again. Which was REALLY annoying. But I was pretty productive on my sick day--I sent out some resumes, updated my resume (wrong order--I updated it first). Then Wednesday, at our weekly meeting at work, we found out that our main clinical supervisor is GONE. His last day was Tuesday. Shock of shockers! I do not want to say too much here. Who knows who reads this. But everyone was pretty sad, and mostly did not understand why he'd left (apparently he was offered a choice to be fired or resign. He resigned). Anyway, to discuss this further, you'll have to email or call me directly, but it was a bit surprising. More than anything, I feel really bad for our now-total supervisor, because she will literally have to do both jobs. That sucks.
Wednesday afternoon I got to hang out with Natacha and her kids--we got some food and had a little rock-picnic in Central Park--it was sweet to be able to be outside sans coat into the darkness, which I took further advantage of by trekking down to Brooklyn to meet up with Ryan and a mutual friend from high school, Lindsay. We had some beers out on the patio of a cute little bar, very pleasant. I do love the warm weather. Unfortunately, that has since left us, and today is a bit chillier.
I'm still in the process of getting stuff together for Peace Corps, trying to figure out my life. I'm also not entirely ruling out the possibility of moving to DC. But overall I've been in an excellent mood--things are moving and shaking, in a bigger way, and I'm getting used to that. Life isn't so exciting daily, but that's okay. Oh!! And I finally got my insurance card!
Thursday, I left for DC on the most horrific round-trip bus ride experience yet (this is what I get for traveling on a holiday weekend I suppose)--we waited for two hours to get on the bus, which would've been kind of annoying, mostly since my cell phone battery was dying, buuuut was made horrendous because this woman behind me talked THE ENTIRE TIME despite the fact that I had head phones in, listening to the Savage Lovecast (which I get a huge kick out of listening to in public...it feels so dirty, and people have no idea...), and part of the time reading/looking at things on my iPhone. It was quite clear to anyone who cared that I didn't really want to have a full conversation. This lady did not care. I discovered the reason when I noticed about an hour through the wait that her teenage son was with her. He had his headphones in, watching a movie or something and laughed periodically. So she's totally used to having someone ignore her! THAT'S why she breezed past my social cues. Anyway, as we were about to get on the bus, an hour and a half later than we were supposed to leave, she starts bitching at the poor guy loading bags in that we won't get to DC until after midnight, and why are we stopping in Philadelphia, and this is so wrong, and repeat. Finally, her son looks up from his iPod, turns to her and goes, "Mom. No one wants to hear you complain. Everyone is annoyed. Just be quiet!" Though she ignored him, I felt so incredibly bad for him. Or perhaps he's fortunate that he has learned to deal with obnoxious people in a reasonable way (at that point, what he said was INCREDIBLY reasonable). The bus ride itself wasn't awful.
The weekend in DC was wonderful--cherry blossoms were in bloom, and I took the day Friday to explore and photograph them, which was fun. I also got to have lunch with my uncle, which was nice. It was a gorgeous, sunny & even hot day. Later, I got to go on a little adventure with Ali since she ran into (and when I say, "ran into" I mean, DROVE into) a curb when she was trying to pick me up, and blew her tire. I heard it hisssss from across the street. Not cool. Her boyfriend changed the tire to the spare that we didn't know if it would fit (but it did!!) and was just generally, as usual, such a trooper. It all worked out. Not exactly our plan for the afternoon, but whatever.
Friday night, I got to hang out with another friend. More, perhaps, on that later.
Saturday, I went to see Clash of the Titans with Ali, Alex (her boyfriend) and Lacey (my sister). We went in 3-D, which I probably wouldn't do again, but it was entertaining. I wasn't blown away, and definitely wouldn't see it again, but it was worth seeing I suppose. Having not seen the original one, it was like Avatar, without the blue people, and in bad 3-D.
Saturday night I made myself a really nice little dinner and just spent some quality time with Lacey's dog, who is one of my favorites, hanging out. It was actually quite nice. And, as anyone who knows me can attest, I appreciated a full night of sleep. Sunday, I went for a 8.6 mile walk around DC with Lacey and a friend of her's, Jeffery, who works in the White House. We had a really fantastic conversation and delectable brunch in the middle. An excellent way to wrap up the weekend, and to spend Easter (if I celebrated it...).
Returning on the bus was, once again, pretty awful, this time due primarily to traffic.
This week was way crazy. Monday was pretty mundane...Tuesday I was sick again. Which was REALLY annoying. But I was pretty productive on my sick day--I sent out some resumes, updated my resume (wrong order--I updated it first). Then Wednesday, at our weekly meeting at work, we found out that our main clinical supervisor is GONE. His last day was Tuesday. Shock of shockers! I do not want to say too much here. Who knows who reads this. But everyone was pretty sad, and mostly did not understand why he'd left (apparently he was offered a choice to be fired or resign. He resigned). Anyway, to discuss this further, you'll have to email or call me directly, but it was a bit surprising. More than anything, I feel really bad for our now-total supervisor, because she will literally have to do both jobs. That sucks.
Wednesday afternoon I got to hang out with Natacha and her kids--we got some food and had a little rock-picnic in Central Park--it was sweet to be able to be outside sans coat into the darkness, which I took further advantage of by trekking down to Brooklyn to meet up with Ryan and a mutual friend from high school, Lindsay. We had some beers out on the patio of a cute little bar, very pleasant. I do love the warm weather. Unfortunately, that has since left us, and today is a bit chillier.
I'm still in the process of getting stuff together for Peace Corps, trying to figure out my life. I'm also not entirely ruling out the possibility of moving to DC. But overall I've been in an excellent mood--things are moving and shaking, in a bigger way, and I'm getting used to that. Life isn't so exciting daily, but that's okay. Oh!! And I finally got my insurance card!
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Sick :-(
I've been battling this obnoxious sickness (mainly just throat pain) all week and last weekend. I had an extremely frustrating tussle with trying to go to the doctor. Basically, I still (still!!) have not received my insurance card, though I was supposed to get it in the end of January, or at LEAST by March 18th, and so even though my insurance is active and I have a subscriber number, so I'm technically able to use it, it has to be verified. So when I tried to go to a clinic after work on Monday, they couldn't see me because they were unable to verify that I did, indeed, have insurance. So, I left with my horribly painful throat, in the cold rain. It was not a happy day. Tuesday, I had the first day of my Zumba dance class (yay!) and somehow managed to work through the pain, mostly with the aid of herbal tea and acetaminophen. But I was actually feeling really great and thinking, well maybe I DON'T need to go to the doctor. Cut to Wednesday morning--OUCH. I was in so much pain, I ended up asking my supervisor if I could go to the doctor in the afternoon, which he graciously allowed. So I headed to this Express Urgent care place that I'd found through my insurer (same place I went on Monday), and they were able to verify my insurance and see me. I was in and out in about 2 hours, which I think is pretty reasonable. The doctor I saw was a bit odd, and I despite his saying, "I'm not here to just throw pills at you" about 4 times, it seemed pretty obvious that he wasn't too concerned that I had anything very serious, and gave me a prescription for some penicillin, which I ended up simply paying for out of pocket because it was easier than trying to get the numbers for the pharmacy from my ridiculous insurance.
So that was my adventure in healthcare--frustrating, and kind of a slap in the face after the exciting passage of health care reform. It was a disappointing reminder that HCR won't really change anything (contrary to all the hubbub spouted out by the Conservative Crazies). But Zumba was pretty sweet! And I'm really exciting I'm FINALLY doing something outside of work. I'm also looking for some volunteer research positions to fill some time, give me something to do.
In other life news, I am "babysitting" tonight (yay!) though what that actually means is sitting by myself in an apartment on the UES and having to stay awake until 12am, then 1am to get home. But at least it will get me out of the house. It's cold again, which I'm not appreciating. But I did get to perform last night at a Haiti benefit thing with a coworker, and it was a lot of fun. I'm hoping I'll get to do some more of that while I'm here.
The real exciting news--I submitted my Peace Corps application. Finally (a year later...!). I am super excited about the possibility, and also nervous about this crazy adventure. I'm also going to DC again next weekend, leaving Thursday afternoon since I get Friday off (w00t!). Should be a nice weekend (70s and cherry blossoms...?!), and I'll have a bit more time than I did last time, which will give me a chance to actually explore a bit hopefully.
Oh! I can't believe I almost forgot this--shows how little I care about my job/how small a part of my emotional life it is. We found out this week that the case management program will be cut, over in 60 days. Which doesn't directly affect my work exactly, except that hopefully we'll get some more patients out of it, and my coworkers are probably losing their jobs (that part sucks a lot), including the supervisor who I really respect and appreciate. So that's the sort of downer of the week, the REAL downer. I still kind of can't believe it's real. I think for now, my job is safe, but even our program is down on its numbers. But that's all for now I think. Just tryin'a make it to the next thing, happily and safely.
So that was my adventure in healthcare--frustrating, and kind of a slap in the face after the exciting passage of health care reform. It was a disappointing reminder that HCR won't really change anything (contrary to all the hubbub spouted out by the Conservative Crazies). But Zumba was pretty sweet! And I'm really exciting I'm FINALLY doing something outside of work. I'm also looking for some volunteer research positions to fill some time, give me something to do.
In other life news, I am "babysitting" tonight (yay!) though what that actually means is sitting by myself in an apartment on the UES and having to stay awake until 12am, then 1am to get home. But at least it will get me out of the house. It's cold again, which I'm not appreciating. But I did get to perform last night at a Haiti benefit thing with a coworker, and it was a lot of fun. I'm hoping I'll get to do some more of that while I'm here.
The real exciting news--I submitted my Peace Corps application. Finally (a year later...!). I am super excited about the possibility, and also nervous about this crazy adventure. I'm also going to DC again next weekend, leaving Thursday afternoon since I get Friday off (w00t!). Should be a nice weekend (70s and cherry blossoms...?!), and I'll have a bit more time than I did last time, which will give me a chance to actually explore a bit hopefully.
Oh! I can't believe I almost forgot this--shows how little I care about my job/how small a part of my emotional life it is. We found out this week that the case management program will be cut, over in 60 days. Which doesn't directly affect my work exactly, except that hopefully we'll get some more patients out of it, and my coworkers are probably losing their jobs (that part sucks a lot), including the supervisor who I really respect and appreciate. So that's the sort of downer of the week, the REAL downer. I still kind of can't believe it's real. I think for now, my job is safe, but even our program is down on its numbers. But that's all for now I think. Just tryin'a make it to the next thing, happily and safely.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
New Job!
So I'm have a particularly annoying day. My computer is being so so slow. I'm dealing with a bunch of logistical issues--getting back to NC and getting a driver's license in NY and such...fun fun. But I did want to take some time and just write a little explanation about my new job!
First of all, just to give a little background on the structure of what I'm doing right now--I am an AmeriCorps VISTA (at least for a few more hours!), which means I am in some ways an employee of the federal government...but then I work at a particular site where I go every day. This varies immensely by who you are (it's like an assignment). The individual site (as I understand it) pays SOMETHING (less even than what I receive; plus it include my recruitment and everything). My site is the William F. Ryan Community Health Center; even more specifically I've gone to work most days at one of their school-based health centers at West Side High School. So. I'm not employed currently by the Ryan Center; but that is where my new job will be.
Additionally, the Ryan Center has several sites--the William F. Ryan center is only one of them, AND I'll actually be at a satellite site that is only satellite because there isn't enough room at the big center. So it's on 100th street and houses the mental health department. I'm excited about this because it's way more laid-back and chill than the big center.
Onto the actual position--the title is Peer Specialist, although that isn't very descriptive (I don't think). So, the basics of what I'll be doing is this: finding, contacting and bringing in HIV positive patients who have, for some reason or another, disappeared--stopped coming to their appointments. The position is funded by a grant from the City. They have determined, through research, that HIV positive patients are less expensive to take care of, protect their partners (sexual or drug-using) better and healthier (although that's, you know, not as important because it isn't about money directly...) when they go to their primary care physician on a regular basis. If they have missed more than 3 appointments in the past 9-14 months, they are eligible for enrollment into the program I'll be working in, and at that point, I would contact them, or try to contact them, and figure out what is preventing them from coming to their appointment(s) and help them problem-solve for at least 6 months to come to their appointment(s) regularly.
So there you go. In a nutshell.
But the next few weeks will be exciting and interesting. I will be getting to Chapel Hill September 12th, taking care of 3 year old twins and a 5 year old by myself for a week (though taking them to preschool during the day), have a weekend with all of my family (all of my mom's siblings and all of mine will be in the same city probably for the first time since my grandfather died 7 years ago). I'm actually really excited about the random and unintended family reuinion, but because it has been so random, I'm a little worried about it being just crazy/unplanned/overwhelming because of that. So I'll try to blog a bit while I'm home/during that whole experience.
First of all, just to give a little background on the structure of what I'm doing right now--I am an AmeriCorps VISTA (at least for a few more hours!), which means I am in some ways an employee of the federal government...but then I work at a particular site where I go every day. This varies immensely by who you are (it's like an assignment). The individual site (as I understand it) pays SOMETHING (less even than what I receive; plus it include my recruitment and everything). My site is the William F. Ryan Community Health Center; even more specifically I've gone to work most days at one of their school-based health centers at West Side High School. So. I'm not employed currently by the Ryan Center; but that is where my new job will be.
Additionally, the Ryan Center has several sites--the William F. Ryan center is only one of them, AND I'll actually be at a satellite site that is only satellite because there isn't enough room at the big center. So it's on 100th street and houses the mental health department. I'm excited about this because it's way more laid-back and chill than the big center.
Onto the actual position--the title is Peer Specialist, although that isn't very descriptive (I don't think). So, the basics of what I'll be doing is this: finding, contacting and bringing in HIV positive patients who have, for some reason or another, disappeared--stopped coming to their appointments. The position is funded by a grant from the City. They have determined, through research, that HIV positive patients are less expensive to take care of, protect their partners (sexual or drug-using) better and healthier (although that's, you know, not as important because it isn't about money directly...) when they go to their primary care physician on a regular basis. If they have missed more than 3 appointments in the past 9-14 months, they are eligible for enrollment into the program I'll be working in, and at that point, I would contact them, or try to contact them, and figure out what is preventing them from coming to their appointment(s) and help them problem-solve for at least 6 months to come to their appointment(s) regularly.
So there you go. In a nutshell.
But the next few weeks will be exciting and interesting. I will be getting to Chapel Hill September 12th, taking care of 3 year old twins and a 5 year old by myself for a week (though taking them to preschool during the day), have a weekend with all of my family (all of my mom's siblings and all of mine will be in the same city probably for the first time since my grandfather died 7 years ago). I'm actually really excited about the random and unintended family reuinion, but because it has been so random, I'm a little worried about it being just crazy/unplanned/overwhelming because of that. So I'll try to blog a bit while I'm home/during that whole experience.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
The first weekend to myself in a month...!
This weekend I finally had some time to myself, which was really nice. Yesterday, I hung out with my friend Alex, watched the UNC game, then went to the party Alex had with her roommates.
This week I taught my puberty class to 7th graders at MS 54 and did vision and hearing screenings for elementary schoolers, which was a lot of fun. It was really nice to get out of the school and see such a different age group. The excitement of this week came at the end--we had a meeting with both AmeriCorps and VISTA members last Friday, and I spent all of our breaks talking to a guy who is in Americorps. At the end of the day, we exchanged phone numbers, and I expected him to be an interesting person to talk to or hang out with. But we went to get drinks this past Friday, and really hit it off. He has worked at an EMT for the past 6 years in Springfield, Mass, and he had to leave to dispatch at around 8, but we really just got along so well, and I'm very excited about getting to have dinner with him this Thursday, which we plan on doing.
That's about all I have for now...I am excited about my job, and getting along well with Molly, which is good. So all's well. Nothing too terribly exciting, and still loving New York :-D.
This week I taught my puberty class to 7th graders at MS 54 and did vision and hearing screenings for elementary schoolers, which was a lot of fun. It was really nice to get out of the school and see such a different age group. The excitement of this week came at the end--we had a meeting with both AmeriCorps and VISTA members last Friday, and I spent all of our breaks talking to a guy who is in Americorps. At the end of the day, we exchanged phone numbers, and I expected him to be an interesting person to talk to or hang out with. But we went to get drinks this past Friday, and really hit it off. He has worked at an EMT for the past 6 years in Springfield, Mass, and he had to leave to dispatch at around 8, but we really just got along so well, and I'm very excited about getting to have dinner with him this Thursday, which we plan on doing.
That's about all I have for now...I am excited about my job, and getting along well with Molly, which is good. So all's well. Nothing too terribly exciting, and still loving New York :-D.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
National Women and Girl's HIV/AIDS Awareness Health Fairs
This week has been the week of health fairs--and it has been CRAZY.
Most of them went pretty well, they were just busy. Today we had the first health fair in a middle school, with classes coming in for 15 minutes, 2 classes at a time, and playing games/answering HIV/AIDS questions (really basic stuff, but important). Though the woman organizing it was way late, which totally stressed me out, it ended up being fine, and I even got VISTAs to help out (other people in my big program), which was nice. i think the kids learned a lot, especially this fair today. A lot of the high schoolers were at least more familiar with HIV/AIDS. But it's always nice to feel like I'm actually making a difference.
I also got to meet with the School Leadership Team, the group of teachers & parents who make the curriculum for the elementary school we work in. I also seriously adore the principal there--he is really hilarious. I'm looking forward to doing the puberty curriculum there that we were discussing, even though it's sort of a sensitive subject at a sensitive age. Still, I'm excited. Maybe not as much as middle school...but that's just gonna be hilarious.
I also got to meet the new girl I'll be working with at my actual site. Her name is Molly, and she's from Texas...she seems very interesting. I feel like that's about all I can say about her now. I think I like her, and I hope we'll be able to work well together. But I'm not 100% sure that's true.
Anyway, I'm exhausted, and Ali's coming tomorrow. I'm sure this weekend will not be very chilled out. On the other hand, I've discovered (and finally begun to appreciate) this awesome website. Check it out. What I've discovered it the beauty of "uploading," or matching, all of your songs. Sweetness!
Feel the love!
Most of them went pretty well, they were just busy. Today we had the first health fair in a middle school, with classes coming in for 15 minutes, 2 classes at a time, and playing games/answering HIV/AIDS questions (really basic stuff, but important). Though the woman organizing it was way late, which totally stressed me out, it ended up being fine, and I even got VISTAs to help out (other people in my big program), which was nice. i think the kids learned a lot, especially this fair today. A lot of the high schoolers were at least more familiar with HIV/AIDS. But it's always nice to feel like I'm actually making a difference.
I also got to meet with the School Leadership Team, the group of teachers & parents who make the curriculum for the elementary school we work in. I also seriously adore the principal there--he is really hilarious. I'm looking forward to doing the puberty curriculum there that we were discussing, even though it's sort of a sensitive subject at a sensitive age. Still, I'm excited. Maybe not as much as middle school...but that's just gonna be hilarious.
I also got to meet the new girl I'll be working with at my actual site. Her name is Molly, and she's from Texas...she seems very interesting. I feel like that's about all I can say about her now. I think I like her, and I hope we'll be able to work well together. But I'm not 100% sure that's true.
Anyway, I'm exhausted, and Ali's coming tomorrow. I'm sure this weekend will not be very chilled out. On the other hand, I've discovered (and finally begun to appreciate) this awesome website. Check it out. What I've discovered it the beauty of "uploading," or matching, all of your songs. Sweetness!
Feel the love!
Monday, March 9, 2009
The End of February
Again, my apologies for the length of time between my entries. I definitely have a lot to write about now, AND I have some time at work (which has become a rarity).
I made it through President's week with no high school kids around and have mostly gotten back into the groove of having my Peer Education class. I like the kids in it--there are only 4 on a good day, so it's easy to manage, and they're mostly good kids. I've enjoyed teaching them, and enjoyed learning how to teach. It's a weird class because I'm sitting down with them, so it doesn't feel as much like a class. But we've made it work.
Otherwise in work, we've been planning for this health fair to celebrate National Women & Girls' HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, which FINALLY is this week. We had the first fair on Friday, which went really well despite what appeared to be a huge amount of disorganization. But I was a little stressed about that last week. We had a poster contest for the event that was more or less a huge bust; we got no posters from one of the five schools. But it is fine--we got a lot from another school and it all worked out.
I also have landed teaching a puberty/pregnancy prevention class at one of our middle schools (MS 54) and in another health class in a middle school (MS 260). I taught my first class at MS54 last week, and I was SO nervous, but it went well, despite my running out of time. I felt like a real teacher, too! Very cool. And the kids had so many questions--I'm really excited about teaching them and offering them a perspective of someone who is willing to talk about this stuff. They are a Delta class, which is an honors program at the school, so they're a little bit of a different demographic than we're exactly trying to reach out to, but whatever.
That's pretty much work life. I'm excited that things are getting busier, but I am also sort of nervous about that. AND, I'm officially 6 months into my service, which is crazy. But true.
I've also had several people come visit. My friend Adam (from Appalachian days) was here last weekend, which was nice. We went to the American Museum of Natural History and saw several of their shows, which were awesome, and we also went to the Climate Change and Butterlies special exhibits. We also took the Staten Island Ferry...accidentally at night...so we could see the Statue of Liberty. The view was really beautiful of the city at night...the Statue of Liberty not that exciting. The other big thing we did was go to the 9/11 site and take a tour with people who had helped with the cleanup/been directly affected by the attack. It was a lot more interesting than I was expecting, and I felt like I learned quite a bit, partly because I tried to pay little attention to everything when it happened because I was so turned off by our lovely President's response. We also went to Century 21, which is right by the 9/11 site, and seriously the most awesome department store I've ever been to. Sweet! It was a good time overall.
Then Daniel (friend from Germany who studied abroad at UNC) arrived literally the same day Adam left...He has been here a week now and is leaving (sadly :-() tomorrow. I've been going to work and meeting him wherever he is when I get off. We watched the VA Tech v UNC game on Wednesday, but mostly just walked around. Saturday, we trekked around Central Park, as it was BEAUTIFUL outside. We went to a comedy show Saturday night, as well as a nice dinner at Le Monde (the restaurant my former roommate worked at). It's provided me a wonderful excuse to get out and do stuff, but also, we've had some nice weather, which makes me realize how excited I am for it to get nice here. I'm really looking forward to wanting to get out and do stuff, even just by myself.
On top of all that, another friend got stuck in NY, and I'm going to dinner with him tonight. AND Ali, along with two of her friends, is coming this weekend. Needless to say, I'm getting plenty of social time. When it rains, it pours, no? It's been nice having people I love come visit...and I look forward to more of that!
I've also been thinking more about what I want to do next year. I'm still sort of hoping I'll be able to find a decent job here (and I perhaps have some leads...), but I am still trying to figure out how I'm going to fit 1) traveling around South America and 2) going to nursing school (perhaps at UNC....) into the next 8 years of my life. As for now, I'm trying to focus on the moment, and just enjoy my job being something interesting and having so many people come visit, as well as living in such a fabulous place.
Check back--I'm planning on posting some fun stories from my puberty classes...I know there will be :-).
Much love!
Shannon
I made it through President's week with no high school kids around and have mostly gotten back into the groove of having my Peer Education class. I like the kids in it--there are only 4 on a good day, so it's easy to manage, and they're mostly good kids. I've enjoyed teaching them, and enjoyed learning how to teach. It's a weird class because I'm sitting down with them, so it doesn't feel as much like a class. But we've made it work.
Otherwise in work, we've been planning for this health fair to celebrate National Women & Girls' HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, which FINALLY is this week. We had the first fair on Friday, which went really well despite what appeared to be a huge amount of disorganization. But I was a little stressed about that last week. We had a poster contest for the event that was more or less a huge bust; we got no posters from one of the five schools. But it is fine--we got a lot from another school and it all worked out.
I also have landed teaching a puberty/pregnancy prevention class at one of our middle schools (MS 54) and in another health class in a middle school (MS 260). I taught my first class at MS54 last week, and I was SO nervous, but it went well, despite my running out of time. I felt like a real teacher, too! Very cool. And the kids had so many questions--I'm really excited about teaching them and offering them a perspective of someone who is willing to talk about this stuff. They are a Delta class, which is an honors program at the school, so they're a little bit of a different demographic than we're exactly trying to reach out to, but whatever.
That's pretty much work life. I'm excited that things are getting busier, but I am also sort of nervous about that. AND, I'm officially 6 months into my service, which is crazy. But true.
I've also had several people come visit. My friend Adam (from Appalachian days) was here last weekend, which was nice. We went to the American Museum of Natural History and saw several of their shows, which were awesome, and we also went to the Climate Change and Butterlies special exhibits. We also took the Staten Island Ferry...accidentally at night...so we could see the Statue of Liberty. The view was really beautiful of the city at night...the Statue of Liberty not that exciting. The other big thing we did was go to the 9/11 site and take a tour with people who had helped with the cleanup/been directly affected by the attack. It was a lot more interesting than I was expecting, and I felt like I learned quite a bit, partly because I tried to pay little attention to everything when it happened because I was so turned off by our lovely President's response. We also went to Century 21, which is right by the 9/11 site, and seriously the most awesome department store I've ever been to. Sweet! It was a good time overall.
Then Daniel (friend from Germany who studied abroad at UNC) arrived literally the same day Adam left...He has been here a week now and is leaving (sadly :-() tomorrow. I've been going to work and meeting him wherever he is when I get off. We watched the VA Tech v UNC game on Wednesday, but mostly just walked around. Saturday, we trekked around Central Park, as it was BEAUTIFUL outside. We went to a comedy show Saturday night, as well as a nice dinner at Le Monde (the restaurant my former roommate worked at). It's provided me a wonderful excuse to get out and do stuff, but also, we've had some nice weather, which makes me realize how excited I am for it to get nice here. I'm really looking forward to wanting to get out and do stuff, even just by myself.
On top of all that, another friend got stuck in NY, and I'm going to dinner with him tonight. AND Ali, along with two of her friends, is coming this weekend. Needless to say, I'm getting plenty of social time. When it rains, it pours, no? It's been nice having people I love come visit...and I look forward to more of that!
I've also been thinking more about what I want to do next year. I'm still sort of hoping I'll be able to find a decent job here (and I perhaps have some leads...), but I am still trying to figure out how I'm going to fit 1) traveling around South America and 2) going to nursing school (perhaps at UNC....) into the next 8 years of my life. As for now, I'm trying to focus on the moment, and just enjoy my job being something interesting and having so many people come visit, as well as living in such a fabulous place.
Check back--I'm planning on posting some fun stories from my puberty classes...I know there will be :-).
Much love!
Shannon
Monday, February 16, 2009
Happy Valentine's and President's Days!
So...I'm at work on Presidents' Day. Or President's Day. Whichever. I never realized this was like, a real holiday, but evidently it is. And also there's no school this whole week. So...I'm pretty much hangin' out. Maybe reading some education articles. But mostly doing nothing. I got sick on Friday (like, 100 degree fever), but slept a lot and felt pretty much totally better by yesterday.
But now I am at work, and unfortunately in our little cave (the basement of the school), the heat is either broken or just turned down and the custodian (who is here...) won't/can't turn it up. We've asked him. Other days too. But it never seems to get warmer. So, I'm wearing my coat and gloves. I'm still cold. And bored. That's pretty much the update on my life. Boring, but whatever.
But now I am at work, and unfortunately in our little cave (the basement of the school), the heat is either broken or just turned down and the custodian (who is here...) won't/can't turn it up. We've asked him. Other days too. But it never seems to get warmer. So, I'm wearing my coat and gloves. I'm still cold. And bored. That's pretty much the update on my life. Boring, but whatever.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Teaching High Schoolers, Part 1
This week (though only half over for me) has been fascinating. Tuesday, I taught my Peer Ed class about nutrition (though I don't think it will stick, and there were only 2 students, who were there at different times because one was late) and then worked on my Self Esteem & Goal-Setting lesson plan. I decided I wanted to do a goal-setting worksheet, with questions like "what is your dream?" and then one main goal for the next 2 years. So I was a little worried I wouldn't be able to convince them that I'm not just talking about this in some kind of off-in-the-distance goal-setting way. I want them to really use it.
So yesterday (Wednesday), I spent the morning going over my plan and freaking out about it a little bit. I then went to the class and ended up not really teaching because for most of the time, there were only 2 students. Instead, I got in an accidental argument with one of the teachers about how she thinks Obama is going to "push us into socialism" (whatever that means) and that capitalism is great because you should be able to keep your money. How someone how is poor and works in a school with kids who live in poverty can hold those views is seriously beyond me. It got worse when I supported my argument with the fact that there are hungry people in the United States and that is messed up since we're the richest nation on earth. She countered that NO ONE in America is starving. Why? Because she hasn't seen it. She must have learned her critical thinking skills from our (now former) President Bush. Anyway, I didn't have statistics, so I couldn't feel ok about arguing too much whether there were in fact hungry people in this country. But regardless, the way she came to her conclusion is what upsets me. That just because she hasn't seen people who are hungry, and that the beggar on her street ONE TIME didn't want the rice she offered him...how does that mean there aren't any hungry people in the ENTIRE COUNTRY?? Additionally she argued that anyone who was begging on the streets was mentally ill. Needless to say, I was bothered and proceeded to look up the statistics. In fact, 1 in 8 Americans live in "food insecure" homes. 12 million children live in food insecure homes. 26% of the adults in the hunger study conducted by Feeding America had attended college or technical school. These people are not mentally ill (probably) and the majority of people who are "food insecure" are not homeless. And food insecure means that though people might have food sometimes, they do not have it all the time. So, no, most people are not starving as in literally dying of hunger. So that's good. But still. 11% of the population of the richest nation on earth doesn't always know where their next meal will come from. That's wrong. Moving on.
In the afternoon, I went to this great conference at NYU in the Wagner School of Public Service called "Innovation to Impact" that I thought might be kind of dumb, but ended up being really awesome. At least the keynote speaker and the conversations I had after the conference. I met some really great people, and had some really inspiring conversations. The main message of the keynote (a Muslim woman who is the author of The Trouble with Islam Today: A Muslim’s Call for Reform in Her Faith) was that we must ask questions out loud and speak truth to power, practice moral courage, use critical thinking. One thing she said that I really loved was that we must use tradition to come to new conclusions (more true ones, supporting women's rights, minority's rights, etc). So anyway, that was really really incredible. The "breakout" session was less interesting and more depressing--I went to one devoted to corporate social responsibility with a speaker who works for Time Warner. She clearly did not believe her company is socially responsible...but she had to act like she did. So that was totally awkward. She just seemed like she totally did not believe what she was telling us. It was sad.
Then we all got back together (or what was left of us...I've found that most conferences, you start out with like 100 people...the second activity has 50, the third 20) and I had a lovely conversation about how obnoxious non-profits are with two young women my age. It was nice to hear that a)my evaluation of non-profits from what I've seen is more or less correct and b)there are other people who are committed to actually making a difference. Then we got into smaller groups and wrote haikus, which was cool and I had a great group. After the group session, I ended up talking with two of the people in my group (ages~30 and ~50) for about 45 minutes. I just always love finding people who I connect with and can share experiences, both mine and theirs. Then I went to dinner with my ex-colleague, Cecilia (from AFSZ), which was also wonderful & enlightening. All-in-all, it was a good day.
This morning, I had my Peer Ed class again and talked about nutrition...again...because there were different people there. It was good, we had a nice conversation and hopefully they learned a little something about nutrition. I'm a bit skeptical about that. But THEN I went to the Family Group class and actually did my lesson about self-esteem and goal-setting, which went as well as possible. I think I even maybe helped some kids think about their plans a little differently. Still, they need more. They need more support, they need more examples, just...more. They don't understand the difference between having an unrealistic goal that will never be reached and having a vision of what they want in their life, then breaking that down into smaller, real goals, then breaking those down, and that you set a short-term goal and then re-assess the situation with any new options that reaching your goal have afforded you. Anyway, I think this is hard for all of us (my age)...learning to do our day-to-day and month-to-month, year-to-year activities while not losing sight of the long-term direction you're headed in. Heck, even having a direction. But I think it's so important. These kids will not get anywhere if they don't have a direction and understand how to move towards it.
Okay I'm getting off my soapbox :-). Love to all!
So yesterday (Wednesday), I spent the morning going over my plan and freaking out about it a little bit. I then went to the class and ended up not really teaching because for most of the time, there were only 2 students. Instead, I got in an accidental argument with one of the teachers about how she thinks Obama is going to "push us into socialism" (whatever that means) and that capitalism is great because you should be able to keep your money. How someone how is poor and works in a school with kids who live in poverty can hold those views is seriously beyond me. It got worse when I supported my argument with the fact that there are hungry people in the United States and that is messed up since we're the richest nation on earth. She countered that NO ONE in America is starving. Why? Because she hasn't seen it. She must have learned her critical thinking skills from our (now former) President Bush. Anyway, I didn't have statistics, so I couldn't feel ok about arguing too much whether there were in fact hungry people in this country. But regardless, the way she came to her conclusion is what upsets me. That just because she hasn't seen people who are hungry, and that the beggar on her street ONE TIME didn't want the rice she offered him...how does that mean there aren't any hungry people in the ENTIRE COUNTRY?? Additionally she argued that anyone who was begging on the streets was mentally ill. Needless to say, I was bothered and proceeded to look up the statistics. In fact, 1 in 8 Americans live in "food insecure" homes. 12 million children live in food insecure homes. 26% of the adults in the hunger study conducted by Feeding America had attended college or technical school. These people are not mentally ill (probably) and the majority of people who are "food insecure" are not homeless. And food insecure means that though people might have food sometimes, they do not have it all the time. So, no, most people are not starving as in literally dying of hunger. So that's good. But still. 11% of the population of the richest nation on earth doesn't always know where their next meal will come from. That's wrong. Moving on.
In the afternoon, I went to this great conference at NYU in the Wagner School of Public Service called "Innovation to Impact" that I thought might be kind of dumb, but ended up being really awesome. At least the keynote speaker and the conversations I had after the conference. I met some really great people, and had some really inspiring conversations. The main message of the keynote (a Muslim woman who is the author of The Trouble with Islam Today: A Muslim’s Call for Reform in Her Faith) was that we must ask questions out loud and speak truth to power, practice moral courage, use critical thinking. One thing she said that I really loved was that we must use tradition to come to new conclusions (more true ones, supporting women's rights, minority's rights, etc). So anyway, that was really really incredible. The "breakout" session was less interesting and more depressing--I went to one devoted to corporate social responsibility with a speaker who works for Time Warner. She clearly did not believe her company is socially responsible...but she had to act like she did. So that was totally awkward. She just seemed like she totally did not believe what she was telling us. It was sad.
Then we all got back together (or what was left of us...I've found that most conferences, you start out with like 100 people...the second activity has 50, the third 20) and I had a lovely conversation about how obnoxious non-profits are with two young women my age. It was nice to hear that a)my evaluation of non-profits from what I've seen is more or less correct and b)there are other people who are committed to actually making a difference. Then we got into smaller groups and wrote haikus, which was cool and I had a great group. After the group session, I ended up talking with two of the people in my group (ages~30 and ~50) for about 45 minutes. I just always love finding people who I connect with and can share experiences, both mine and theirs. Then I went to dinner with my ex-colleague, Cecilia (from AFSZ), which was also wonderful & enlightening. All-in-all, it was a good day.
This morning, I had my Peer Ed class again and talked about nutrition...again...because there were different people there. It was good, we had a nice conversation and hopefully they learned a little something about nutrition. I'm a bit skeptical about that. But THEN I went to the Family Group class and actually did my lesson about self-esteem and goal-setting, which went as well as possible. I think I even maybe helped some kids think about their plans a little differently. Still, they need more. They need more support, they need more examples, just...more. They don't understand the difference between having an unrealistic goal that will never be reached and having a vision of what they want in their life, then breaking that down into smaller, real goals, then breaking those down, and that you set a short-term goal and then re-assess the situation with any new options that reaching your goal have afforded you. Anyway, I think this is hard for all of us (my age)...learning to do our day-to-day and month-to-month, year-to-year activities while not losing sight of the long-term direction you're headed in. Heck, even having a direction. But I think it's so important. These kids will not get anywhere if they don't have a direction and understand how to move towards it.
Okay I'm getting off my soapbox :-). Love to all!
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Self-Esteem
This week has been pretty crazy--staring a new job, I did a bunch of stuff after work socially, which was great, and I went on 2 dates. The first few days of work were somewhat lame...I got to sit in on the Peer Education class I'll be teaching the first day but the rest of the day was fairly mundane--I just read different curriculum about the Peer Ed and Sex Ed. Wednesday was about the same. Thursday I did a bit more work on new HIV curriculum for elementary schoolers. Friday is when things got exciting--Katie (the other VISTA who has been working there) came and introduced me to some of the teachers in the school who were more than happy to allow me to come teach some classes next week...so I learned that Tuesday I'll be able to help with their class & watching the inauguration, then Wednesday & Thursday I'll be able to teach whatever I want as far as Pregnancy Prevention, and I'm planning on doing a lesson on self-esteem and goal-setting as well as relationships and information about birth control. This is what got me totally psyched, particularly the fact that the other teachers really agreed that the problem of teenage pregnancy is multi-faceted. Who knows if I'll be able to make a difference...but I can at least try.
Wednesday night I went ice skating with my roommate, Maria, which was nice. It was a lot of fun and good exercise. Thursday I watched the Carolina game with my friend and fellow Carolina Alumnus, Ryan...Friday I went on Date #1, which was alright...the guy was nice, I was fairly unimpressed though. I realized that I can have a good time with anyone...but that doesn't necessarily mean I want to see them again or hang out with them again. I think, as narcissistic as it sounds, I really like it when people are impressed by me. I mean, duh, I guess...it makes you feel good about yourself, right? But that gets old. I like people in the longer term who challenge me and who make me think about myself in a new way. Date #2 was a step up but similar...nice but nothing to write home about. They're nice distractions, but life is too short for too much distraction, right? I'm all about finding someone who I really connect with...but anyone who I don't, I have to fess up to that fact and move on (which is sometimes hard for me). Whatevs. My job is awesome, life is good :-D.
Wednesday night I went ice skating with my roommate, Maria, which was nice. It was a lot of fun and good exercise. Thursday I watched the Carolina game with my friend and fellow Carolina Alumnus, Ryan...Friday I went on Date #1, which was alright...the guy was nice, I was fairly unimpressed though. I realized that I can have a good time with anyone...but that doesn't necessarily mean I want to see them again or hang out with them again. I think, as narcissistic as it sounds, I really like it when people are impressed by me. I mean, duh, I guess...it makes you feel good about yourself, right? But that gets old. I like people in the longer term who challenge me and who make me think about myself in a new way. Date #2 was a step up but similar...nice but nothing to write home about. They're nice distractions, but life is too short for too much distraction, right? I'm all about finding someone who I really connect with...but anyone who I don't, I have to fess up to that fact and move on (which is sometimes hard for me). Whatevs. My job is awesome, life is good :-D.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Post-Christmas Adventures in Shannon-land
So, I returned to New York on Monday after a lovely almost-2-week vacay in the Thrill. I gave myself a break and took a cab home, but hauling my 50.5-pound suitcase up 5 flights of stairs still proved a difficult task...anyhow, I did make it. I soon discovered that the friend of my roommate's whose Internet we'd been using decided to change the password...and she was (and still is until Jan 7th) in Geneva. Awesome. Perfect timing since I will be home and it will be freezing cold for the next few weeks.
Tuesday I decided to conquer the doctors visit I had to make to start my new job. I went the the Ryan Center (which is also the clinic I'll be working for) and registered as a patient, then waited for an hour. I was taken back and asked a few medical history questions, weighed and then sent back out into the waiting room for another hour. Finally they called me back again and I saw the doctor for about 2 minutes.
"You're in good health?"
"Yes."
"You don't have any problems or feel bad at all?"
"Nope."
With that, the doctor signed off that I was in good enough health to work and sent me back out to the waiting room to get in line for the lab. The waiting room was full--all the same kinds of people I'd seen at the food stamp offices through my adventures there...after yet another 45 minutes, the lab called me back and drew some blood to ensure that I have, in fact, had all the vaccinations they want me to have had. Then I was sent to a nurse's office to be injected with whatever tests for tuberculosis, a test that is deceivingly called "PPD." Finally I was sent home.
Wednesday I let myself sleep in and planned to go into my old office to pick up the remaining things--coffee mug, gum, pain killers, etc--and turn in keys. On my way, I decided to finally sign up for a membership to the city recreation centers, which i've been meaning to do pretty much since August, but now if I even want a place to run I'll have to join since it's so cold outside.
This, it turned out, was an adventure all of its own. I wanted to be able to transfer memberships to all of the centers in the city, so I had to join a center with a pool (they're $75 a year as opposed to $50, but the non-pool locations you have to go to the same center). So I went to one at 59th and half a block past 10th avenue. I went to a different center in October and their machines were down, so I was unsuccessful in my attempt to join since all I had to pay was a card. This time I came prepared with my checkbook, and was congratulating myself on my forsight since their machine, too, happened to be broken. My congratulations came to early, as they informed me that they could not take out of state checks AND though I had cash, they also didn't take that. I had to go pay $1 to get a money order. Nothing is ever easy.
Let me also set the scene--30 degree weather with constant wind of about 15mph. And snowing. So I had to go back outside to find some check-cashing place to get a money order. After walking re same two blocks twice in the evil winter weather, I called the center to give me better directions to the place (thank you, iPhone, for the # of the center) and finally found it, made my way back to the rec center and completed my registration. Lovely.
After stopping by my old office one last time, I went to look at a possible new apartment. It was quite cheap, so I didn't expect anything spectacular, but I had to walk, still, in the freezing, biting wind. I made it and was unsurprised to discover the room a bit below my standards (which, really, I don't think are THAT high, bit whatever).
I made my way home and got ready for the new year--! I went to a friend's party in Williamsburg, Brooklyn with lots of hipsters.
And now the new year is here. I'm looking forward to an even more wonderful year than 2008. Today, I looked at another apartment, this one much more to my liking, though a bit small. So I didn't sign anything yet, but I let my roommate know I'd move out at the end of January. So...it really is a whole new year. Cheers! Happy New Year to all!
Tuesday I decided to conquer the doctors visit I had to make to start my new job. I went the the Ryan Center (which is also the clinic I'll be working for) and registered as a patient, then waited for an hour. I was taken back and asked a few medical history questions, weighed and then sent back out into the waiting room for another hour. Finally they called me back again and I saw the doctor for about 2 minutes.
"You're in good health?"
"Yes."
"You don't have any problems or feel bad at all?"
"Nope."
With that, the doctor signed off that I was in good enough health to work and sent me back out to the waiting room to get in line for the lab. The waiting room was full--all the same kinds of people I'd seen at the food stamp offices through my adventures there...after yet another 45 minutes, the lab called me back and drew some blood to ensure that I have, in fact, had all the vaccinations they want me to have had. Then I was sent to a nurse's office to be injected with whatever tests for tuberculosis, a test that is deceivingly called "PPD." Finally I was sent home.
Wednesday I let myself sleep in and planned to go into my old office to pick up the remaining things--coffee mug, gum, pain killers, etc--and turn in keys. On my way, I decided to finally sign up for a membership to the city recreation centers, which i've been meaning to do pretty much since August, but now if I even want a place to run I'll have to join since it's so cold outside.
This, it turned out, was an adventure all of its own. I wanted to be able to transfer memberships to all of the centers in the city, so I had to join a center with a pool (they're $75 a year as opposed to $50, but the non-pool locations you have to go to the same center). So I went to one at 59th and half a block past 10th avenue. I went to a different center in October and their machines were down, so I was unsuccessful in my attempt to join since all I had to pay was a card. This time I came prepared with my checkbook, and was congratulating myself on my forsight since their machine, too, happened to be broken. My congratulations came to early, as they informed me that they could not take out of state checks AND though I had cash, they also didn't take that. I had to go pay $1 to get a money order. Nothing is ever easy.
Let me also set the scene--30 degree weather with constant wind of about 15mph. And snowing. So I had to go back outside to find some check-cashing place to get a money order. After walking re same two blocks twice in the evil winter weather, I called the center to give me better directions to the place (thank you, iPhone, for the # of the center) and finally found it, made my way back to the rec center and completed my registration. Lovely.
After stopping by my old office one last time, I went to look at a possible new apartment. It was quite cheap, so I didn't expect anything spectacular, but I had to walk, still, in the freezing, biting wind. I made it and was unsurprised to discover the room a bit below my standards (which, really, I don't think are THAT high, bit whatever).
I made my way home and got ready for the new year--! I went to a friend's party in Williamsburg, Brooklyn with lots of hipsters.
And now the new year is here. I'm looking forward to an even more wonderful year than 2008. Today, I looked at another apartment, this one much more to my liking, though a bit small. So I didn't sign anything yet, but I let my roommate know I'd move out at the end of January. So...it really is a whole new year. Cheers! Happy New Year to all!
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