My new job titles are "Individual Service Specialist" and " Respite Care Provider II".
ISS
"Provides in-home/community skill building to individuals with Mental Health Diagnoses.
RII
"Provides in-home respite care to individuals ages five through seventeen with a MHD.
This is the very very very basic descriptions of my jobs. Yesterday I spent 45 minutes reading and signing my life away. They now have access to my SS#, my bank account, my drivers license and my gf's name. They know every address I've lived at since I was two years old and chances are they watch me when I pee.
Just kidding...a little.
Both of my job titles came with three page long descriptions of duties, requirements, qualifications, etc. It's enough to intimidate someone. My mother is a "keyboard specialist" for Broome County Developmental which is a state run agency and she is basically a paper sorter. She goes on and on about how much useless and unnecessary paperwork there is for every single thing that every single client has ever done since they were out of the womb. My mother often rewrites her superiors work so that their wording fits the guidelines of what the state finds acceptable in their paperwork. My mom's a smart lady. She got a 100 on the civil service exam. But she doesn't believe in evolution. Go figure.
Sigh. And so it goes....
Lauren's Journal
My Podcast Link
02/04/2009 11:03 #47630
Job Desciptions and the like02/03/2009 11:57 #47616
RIP SpikeTwo summers ago felly and I went to Wal-Mart and got two plants. One was a soft green plant with broad rounded edges and the other was a dark green pointy plant with long trunk like things. When we were in line checking out a girl in front of us had the same to plants and she said said that she got them because one was feminine, for her, and the other was masculine, for her boyfriend. I hadn't really thought about it like that...but sure. whatever.
I think both felly and I have discussed the problem of our cats, Max in particular, of have a taste for plants, so Spike was always being chomped on and had stubs where his long spikey tendrils should have been. But he lived. This morning however, he was murdered. I had gotten up, peed, and poured myself a cop of coffee before I saw the gruesome scene.
There was so much dirt I couldn't even see the plant anymore. The pot was upside and to one side, while I saw the large roots sticking straight into the air. The dirt was concentrated on one area but then spread in two to three feet in either direction. I sighed. Poor Spike. What a way to wake up. I got to cleaning up the dirt and discovered what was left of the decapitated spikey leaves that were apparently his masculine trait. Now nothing but a sad story to blog about.
So, we are down to one plant. This one, feminine plant has survived perhaps even more than spike did. We thought we were helping her when we put in the sun last summer, only to watch her slowly shrivel and get sun burned. Apparently she is an indoor plant and needs only indirect light. After her near death experience however, she came back and is now bigger and more beautiful then ever.
3 weeks of winter left. I am looking forward to spring so i can plant some flowers outside where they are (a little more) safe from my cats.
Oh yes. Notes on the job....
Had to get a PPD test yesterday...apparently they are checking to see if I was exposed to Tuberculosis...the nurses at the office were craaazay, in that women who work together kind of way. Then I went to the Social Security office on Sheridan which was a trip. Weird. This is why I hate the government. Oh yeah and apparently "they" think (ie. have in their computer) that I was born in California, when really, I was born in Oklahoma. How this happens, I don't know. My passport says Oklahoma...I have never even been to California. Ah well. And today I have an appt. for 45 minutes of paperwork. I have gathered my degree, my passport and the paper that says I have a social security card on the way. (e:janelle) says I get fingerprinted too. Maybe I will find out some more things about myself that I don't know.
I think both felly and I have discussed the problem of our cats, Max in particular, of have a taste for plants, so Spike was always being chomped on and had stubs where his long spikey tendrils should have been. But he lived. This morning however, he was murdered. I had gotten up, peed, and poured myself a cop of coffee before I saw the gruesome scene.
There was so much dirt I couldn't even see the plant anymore. The pot was upside and to one side, while I saw the large roots sticking straight into the air. The dirt was concentrated on one area but then spread in two to three feet in either direction. I sighed. Poor Spike. What a way to wake up. I got to cleaning up the dirt and discovered what was left of the decapitated spikey leaves that were apparently his masculine trait. Now nothing but a sad story to blog about.
So, we are down to one plant. This one, feminine plant has survived perhaps even more than spike did. We thought we were helping her when we put in the sun last summer, only to watch her slowly shrivel and get sun burned. Apparently she is an indoor plant and needs only indirect light. After her near death experience however, she came back and is now bigger and more beautiful then ever.
3 weeks of winter left. I am looking forward to spring so i can plant some flowers outside where they are (a little more) safe from my cats.
Oh yes. Notes on the job....
Had to get a PPD test yesterday...apparently they are checking to see if I was exposed to Tuberculosis...the nurses at the office were craaazay, in that women who work together kind of way. Then I went to the Social Security office on Sheridan which was a trip. Weird. This is why I hate the government. Oh yeah and apparently "they" think (ie. have in their computer) that I was born in California, when really, I was born in Oklahoma. How this happens, I don't know. My passport says Oklahoma...I have never even been to California. Ah well. And today I have an appt. for 45 minutes of paperwork. I have gathered my degree, my passport and the paper that says I have a social security card on the way. (e:janelle) says I get fingerprinted too. Maybe I will find out some more things about myself that I don't know.
01/31/2009 12:17 #47582
The Price of a TicketI went to some health center on Sheridan and peed in a cup. It was definitely one of the weirder experiences of my life. A dude called my name from the waiting room and took me into a little closet of a room with a sink, desk, and separate (thank god) bathroom. He told me to take off my coat and wash my hands...I don't know for sure why I had to wash my hands before I went...but I did. I wasn't sure at first if he was going to make me pee in front of him or not, but I closed the door and he didn't object. It took me awhile to even get going...I had to pee cause I drank water before hand to be sure, but knowing that there was some dude just a few feet away from me creeped me out and gave me performance anxiety. But I finally did it...and had to remind myself not to flush the toilet because that, for whatever reason, would invalidate my test.
I set my little pee filled cup on the desk next to him and went to wash my hands, again. I came back and he was sitting there, looking around, rolling his eyes and not really doing anything except not looking at me. I was confused. Then he looked down and said "sign here for a negative result". I didn't realize they did it right there, so quick, tada you passed. Sweet. That guy must hate his job.
I talked to a woman from Human Resources yesterday and she was like, you need your social security and a copy of your degree. Uhhhh, I have no idea where my social security card is so I have to go get a new one on Monday and bring her the proof that says I'm a real live person. After three or four phone calls to my family back home, I found my degree and am having it shipped here in hopes that it will arrive by Tuesday when I have 45 minutes worth of paperwork to do. Good thing I already have a passport.
What is this? The Inquisition?! Is that what its like when you get a real job? I mean, I guess I can see cause I am working with kids and I will be representing the company so they want to be sure that I'm not a child molester or something, but holy hell.
Oh YEAH AND TONIGHT YOU'RE GONNA SEE SOME BREAKIN!
Battle @ Buffalo
7ish oclock
910 Main Street
5 bucks
Come one, come all
support the local hip hop community
word
I set my little pee filled cup on the desk next to him and went to wash my hands, again. I came back and he was sitting there, looking around, rolling his eyes and not really doing anything except not looking at me. I was confused. Then he looked down and said "sign here for a negative result". I didn't realize they did it right there, so quick, tada you passed. Sweet. That guy must hate his job.
I talked to a woman from Human Resources yesterday and she was like, you need your social security and a copy of your degree. Uhhhh, I have no idea where my social security card is so I have to go get a new one on Monday and bring her the proof that says I'm a real live person. After three or four phone calls to my family back home, I found my degree and am having it shipped here in hopes that it will arrive by Tuesday when I have 45 minutes worth of paperwork to do. Good thing I already have a passport.
What is this? The Inquisition?! Is that what its like when you get a real job? I mean, I guess I can see cause I am working with kids and I will be representing the company so they want to be sure that I'm not a child molester or something, but holy hell.
Oh YEAH AND TONIGHT YOU'RE GONNA SEE SOME BREAKIN!
Battle @ Buffalo
7ish oclock
910 Main Street
5 bucks
Come one, come all
support the local hip hop community
word
leetee - 02/02/09 08:42
Let me know if you need directions to the WNY DDSO, it's where i work. :)
Let me know if you need directions to the WNY DDSO, it's where i work. :)
heidi - 01/31/09 22:34
DAMN!!! I was soooo looking forward to Battle tonight and I missed it!!! Did all the guest guys come?
DAMN!!! I was soooo looking forward to Battle tonight and I missed it!!! Did all the guest guys come?
metalpeter - 01/31/09 16:18
That peeing thing sounds weird. That guys job must suck. In terms of the not flushing I can think of one reason why they might do that, I'm not saying they do. There are people who will pay others to give them piss and sneak it in. If you used this kind then you could just flush after. But if they went in a got another sample they could test to see that it is the same stuff. But I don't think you could pay someone to do that. I do think that though the flushing could be a way to cover up and say oh you didn't hear me because I was flushing again goes back to the paying for clean pee. I know if it was me I would be freaked out having someone listen in, if I was a girl and it was a dude, it would really really freak me out.
That peeing thing sounds weird. That guys job must suck. In terms of the not flushing I can think of one reason why they might do that, I'm not saying they do. There are people who will pay others to give them piss and sneak it in. If you used this kind then you could just flush after. But if they went in a got another sample they could test to see that it is the same stuff. But I don't think you could pay someone to do that. I do think that though the flushing could be a way to cover up and say oh you didn't hear me because I was flushing again goes back to the paying for clean pee. I know if it was me I would be freaked out having someone listen in, if I was a girl and it was a dude, it would really really freak me out.
janelle - 01/31/09 15:01
Every "real" job post college I've had has required a copy of my degree. Also, the agency you're working at now just got in some trouble from the state for not having copies of degrees on in personnel records and it cost the agency a lot of money. So I suggest you make copies of it and keep it in your records. I also keep copies of my transcripts around because I had a workplace request it. I also keep all my work evaluations.
Welcome to the world of social service bureaucracy!
And almost every job is going to require a SS card to do the I9 form.
They're going to be sending you to the WNY DDSO to get finger prints done too before you can be alone with clients. I actually found the fingerprinting kind of cool.
Every "real" job post college I've had has required a copy of my degree. Also, the agency you're working at now just got in some trouble from the state for not having copies of degrees on in personnel records and it cost the agency a lot of money. So I suggest you make copies of it and keep it in your records. I also keep copies of my transcripts around because I had a workplace request it. I also keep all my work evaluations.
Welcome to the world of social service bureaucracy!
And almost every job is going to require a SS card to do the I9 form.
They're going to be sending you to the WNY DDSO to get finger prints done too before you can be alone with clients. I actually found the fingerprinting kind of cool.
01/28/2009 10:22 #47541
Jobby JobSo I just got a call from Heritage Centers saying that I am hired! As long as I pass the drug test...which shouldn't be I problem...i hope. This is good cause last night I discovered that I won't be getting any money from taxes this year and then felly broke her glasses and Ralphie just had to go to the vet for some three hundred dollar blood work and medicine. sigh.
can i just tell you how much of a worry warted first time mom I am? I was doing and all but then Ralphie started popping blood, sleeping all day and got this rash thing on his nose. I might have cried a little, telling him that we would take him to the doctor and he would be all better. yeah, thats me. haha. course, being the poor mom that I am, I opted for only the blood tests instead of the x rays and, of course, the blood tests came back fine. 200 plus down the drain. at least he is feeling better though...he is eating a "bland diet" of boiled chicken and white rice, which I made for him. Spoiled little shit. he loves it and probably won't be happy when he starts getting his regular food mixed back in.
Anyways, everyone cross their fingers for me and my clean system. I'll keep you posted.
can i just tell you how much of a worry warted first time mom I am? I was doing and all but then Ralphie started popping blood, sleeping all day and got this rash thing on his nose. I might have cried a little, telling him that we would take him to the doctor and he would be all better. yeah, thats me. haha. course, being the poor mom that I am, I opted for only the blood tests instead of the x rays and, of course, the blood tests came back fine. 200 plus down the drain. at least he is feeling better though...he is eating a "bland diet" of boiled chicken and white rice, which I made for him. Spoiled little shit. he loves it and probably won't be happy when he starts getting his regular food mixed back in.
Anyways, everyone cross their fingers for me and my clean system. I'll keep you posted.
imk2 - 02/03/09 16:41
what kind of job is it? what will you be doing? or did you already post this in another journal and i missed it?
what kind of job is it? what will you be doing? or did you already post this in another journal and i missed it?
libertad - 01/28/09 13:34
Congrats. The vet bills are so not fun.
Congrats. The vet bills are so not fun.
leetee - 01/28/09 12:32
congrats on the job. :o)
congrats on the job. :o)
james - 01/28/09 12:29
congrats!
congrats!
mrmike - 01/28/09 11:37
Here's hoping u pee freely
Here's hoping u pee freely
01/21/2009 16:21 #47473
The Day After...In response to (e:joshua)
ug. i have to disagree with you. I will confess that she certainly was not the most inspiring reader on the planet, but the poem is beautiful and appropriate. also, elizabeth alexander is an extremely well known and highly regarded poet, theorist, academic, etc. perhaps it is a surprise to the (white) american public that there was a black poet reading at the inauguration that they had never heard of.
In general
"Say it plain, that many have died for this day. Sing the names of the dead who brought us here."
How many people were crying tears of joy? How many tears of pain for the many who died for that day, and I speak not of the men and women in the military, but the men and women who were brought to this country in the bowels of slave ships. who were not counted as entire human beings. who were beaten and murdered for protesting segregation. i am not being dramatic or sentimental but we have to ask ourselves what the tears are really about, and where have they been hiding? electing president obama, swearing him into office does almost nothing in the face of all that history. i kept asking myself yesterday, why... why is this such a "historical moment"? because the whites have opened the door and 'allowed' a black person in? i cried yesterday and i have to ask myself the same question. chances are there will be differing, but deeply connected answers.
i probably shouldn't have started this entry because i don't have the time to finish it properly. lets just say that i watched cnn for five hours and it made me tired. the complexities of this situation are too much for my brain and my heart to handle sometimes.
I forget who, but someone said that racism basically decides who gets to live and who gets to die.
"Say it plain, that many have died for this day."
ug. i have to disagree with you. I will confess that she certainly was not the most inspiring reader on the planet, but the poem is beautiful and appropriate. also, elizabeth alexander is an extremely well known and highly regarded poet, theorist, academic, etc. perhaps it is a surprise to the (white) american public that there was a black poet reading at the inauguration that they had never heard of.
In general
"Say it plain, that many have died for this day. Sing the names of the dead who brought us here."
How many people were crying tears of joy? How many tears of pain for the many who died for that day, and I speak not of the men and women in the military, but the men and women who were brought to this country in the bowels of slave ships. who were not counted as entire human beings. who were beaten and murdered for protesting segregation. i am not being dramatic or sentimental but we have to ask ourselves what the tears are really about, and where have they been hiding? electing president obama, swearing him into office does almost nothing in the face of all that history. i kept asking myself yesterday, why... why is this such a "historical moment"? because the whites have opened the door and 'allowed' a black person in? i cried yesterday and i have to ask myself the same question. chances are there will be differing, but deeply connected answers.
i probably shouldn't have started this entry because i don't have the time to finish it properly. lets just say that i watched cnn for five hours and it made me tired. the complexities of this situation are too much for my brain and my heart to handle sometimes.
I forget who, but someone said that racism basically decides who gets to live and who gets to die.
"Say it plain, that many have died for this day."
lauren - 01/22/09 19:59
sigh. no, (e:joshua), i am not saying you didn't like the poem because she was black. i am also not suggesting that most people didn't know her because she was black. im not sure i understand your reference to fear of flying either...that was written by erica jong...am i missing something? and i do understand that i live in the academic world where she is extremely well known and that often that world is disconnected from the so called real world.
oh yes, and...i hate to disagree with you :) but... i do think most things are about race. and gender and sexuality and class and all that shit. this is of course not to say that i was targeting your feelings about the poem as being about race at all...and i was also not intending to sound as though all the black folks in the audience knew who she was because they are black. nor am i saying that all white folks are evil...but thats a whole nother entry.
(e:metalpeter) i just wanted to say that i think there is something really powerful about reading poetry aloud just as it can powerful to read to yourself. it depends on the poem, the person, etc. she wasn't the best reader, but the poem speaks for itself.
sigh. no, (e:joshua), i am not saying you didn't like the poem because she was black. i am also not suggesting that most people didn't know her because she was black. im not sure i understand your reference to fear of flying either...that was written by erica jong...am i missing something? and i do understand that i live in the academic world where she is extremely well known and that often that world is disconnected from the so called real world.
oh yes, and...i hate to disagree with you :) but... i do think most things are about race. and gender and sexuality and class and all that shit. this is of course not to say that i was targeting your feelings about the poem as being about race at all...and i was also not intending to sound as though all the black folks in the audience knew who she was because they are black. nor am i saying that all white folks are evil...but thats a whole nother entry.
(e:metalpeter) i just wanted to say that i think there is something really powerful about reading poetry aloud just as it can powerful to read to yourself. it depends on the poem, the person, etc. she wasn't the best reader, but the poem speaks for itself.
joshua - 01/21/09 19:20
Rather than accusing you of it, and then responding in vicious form as a result of it, I'll just ask then respond - are you suggesting that I didn't like her poem because she's black?
Fair enough on your opinion of the poem.
(e:lauren) I'm a very widely read person - I know who Elizabeth Alexander is. I'm also probably one of the few humans with "outies" that has read Fear of Flying... lol. I wouldn't call her "extremely well known" as a poet but that is just me. I think her selection had more to do with the fact that her brother was a Senior Advisor to the Obama campaign, and his sister happened to be a college professor that had a collection selected as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2005 (well deserved honor).
I see her as well regarded *enough* but certainly not on the level of a Maya Angelou or Robert Frost when they were selected. It is no stretch to say that she's more obscure than her inaugural forebears. I'm not denigrating her by saying this - I think she was a worthy selection although I didn't like the poem. But let's not pretend that she is a mainstream name because that isn't true!
For me Maya Angelou is an example of an inaugural (black!) poet that almost everybody knows and knew at the time, including most of the evil white people.
I'd venture to guess that a vast, enormous swath of the 2m at the inauguration had no clue who she was (including many of those in Congress), and it was the most diverse crowd ever at an inauguration. It is hardly a crime that most people had and generally still have no clue who she is - most people don't know any poets whatsoever outside of whatever it is they read in high school.
Rather than accusing you of it, and then responding in vicious form as a result of it, I'll just ask then respond - are you suggesting that I didn't like her poem because she's black?
Fair enough on your opinion of the poem.
(e:lauren) I'm a very widely read person - I know who Elizabeth Alexander is. I'm also probably one of the few humans with "outies" that has read Fear of Flying... lol. I wouldn't call her "extremely well known" as a poet but that is just me. I think her selection had more to do with the fact that her brother was a Senior Advisor to the Obama campaign, and his sister happened to be a college professor that had a collection selected as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2005 (well deserved honor).
I see her as well regarded *enough* but certainly not on the level of a Maya Angelou or Robert Frost when they were selected. It is no stretch to say that she's more obscure than her inaugural forebears. I'm not denigrating her by saying this - I think she was a worthy selection although I didn't like the poem. But let's not pretend that she is a mainstream name because that isn't true!
For me Maya Angelou is an example of an inaugural (black!) poet that almost everybody knows and knew at the time, including most of the evil white people.
I'd venture to guess that a vast, enormous swath of the 2m at the inauguration had no clue who she was (including many of those in Congress), and it was the most diverse crowd ever at an inauguration. It is hardly a crime that most people had and generally still have no clue who she is - most people don't know any poets whatsoever outside of whatever it is they read in high school.
metalpeter - 01/21/09 18:38
I didn't hear the poem since I didn't see the signing in of the new president. I did read the poem here. I don't think a poem should be read at an event like that. I know there are many kinds of poems and some use rimes and sounds. But see poems are made to be read, not spoken like a song. I know some of the hipsters might attack me. But a poetry slam is bullshit. I'm not saying it isn't talent but if you speak it, it is a song or a rap. Now some might say but there is no music. But freestyle (both real and made up on the spot, and fake where the person wrote it or thought before hand and presents it as if they are thinking it) rap doesn't use music. Reading a poem in class or with other people aloud is different then at a big event or a coffee house performance place. I'm not saying I wouldn't go to one of those. Yes I think that maybe those are a good thing and a good way to get kids to get into it and learn. But poetry is to be read to ones self and not alound at a big event like that.
I didn't hear the poem since I didn't see the signing in of the new president. I did read the poem here. I don't think a poem should be read at an event like that. I know there are many kinds of poems and some use rimes and sounds. But see poems are made to be read, not spoken like a song. I know some of the hipsters might attack me. But a poetry slam is bullshit. I'm not saying it isn't talent but if you speak it, it is a song or a rap. Now some might say but there is no music. But freestyle (both real and made up on the spot, and fake where the person wrote it or thought before hand and presents it as if they are thinking it) rap doesn't use music. Reading a poem in class or with other people aloud is different then at a big event or a coffee house performance place. I'm not saying I wouldn't go to one of those. Yes I think that maybe those are a good thing and a good way to get kids to get into it and learn. But poetry is to be read to ones self and not alound at a big event like that.
jason - 01/21/09 18:35
Not to the extent that if someone doesn't dig her poem questions of racial bias arise. No, I do not agree with that.
Not to the extent that if someone doesn't dig her poem questions of racial bias arise. No, I do not agree with that.
james - 01/21/09 17:36
was yesterday not a time to see things through the prism of race?
was yesterday not a time to see things through the prism of race?
jason - 01/21/09 17:14
Not everything is about race, or is appropriate to see through a race colored prism, especially when reading people you don't know that well. I think a poem can be great, or it can be utter shit, regardless of who wrote it or read it.
Not everything is about race, or is appropriate to see through a race colored prism, especially when reading people you don't know that well. I think a poem can be great, or it can be utter shit, regardless of who wrote it or read it.
Yeah you will have to get fingerprinted. If the state does it, you will have to drive down to West Seneca to the DDSO to get it done. It's the back of the big yellow building that happens to be across the lot from the building i work in.
I also recommend if they give you the option of getting the Hep B immunizations, that you take them up on it. :O)