i slept till 930 today and it was amazing. I did wake up around 530 but happily went back to sleep.
I have been waking up at 530 for the last three days in a row for my training, which is thankfully now over. the training was pretty good... not as terribly boring as i expected it to be. they have some pretty good techniques for dealing with kids and being a "teacher"...but i can't help but wonder how three days of lectures and mini role plays can really prepare you for working one on one with kids.
i know that when it comes down to it though, you can't really prepare. its like someone explaining to you exactly how to drive a car. it doesn't really click until you get there and do it yourself...and do it awhile before you are good at that. i also think that there is much that i can learn from kids...just like i hope they will learn from me. its all about the process i suppose
anyway, I am now a certified Direct Care Worker in the Wraparound program for Erie Country. I know how to deflect the punch of a cute little lady who was my partner for that exercise, and the correct steps of "preventative teaching," and crisis intervention. we shall see about that.
Lauren's Journal
My Podcast Link
02/12/2009 12:26 #47729
mm. sleep. good.02/04/2009 12:19 #47634
25 things...might as well.1. I am not sure if I am doing this right...
2. When I was in high school I was in the band, orchestra, marching band, pep band and chorus. I also played the hand bells at church. Now I don't play anything.
3. I went to SUNY New Paltz to major in theater. I came out with a degree in Women's Studies.
4. I am currently writing my Master's Thesis.
5. I was born in Oklahoma and haven't been there in over 10 years even though I have tons of family there. I want to go back but I am afraid that they will judge me.
6. I am obsessed with black women's fiction.
7. I just got my first "real" job...at 25.
8. I am out to my parents...and they love my girlfriend.
9. I hate the cold, but I love to ski.
10. I got "best eyes" my senior year of high school.
11. I miss my New Paltz friends sometimes...and I miss New Paltz in general.
12. Cleaning makes me feel happy and accomplished.
13. I believe in ghosts, but I don't know if I believe in an afterlife. Explain that one.
14. I hate being the center of attention, but I crave the spotlight.
15. I am a hoarder. I keep everything. Notes from high school. New Kids on the Block collector cards. Trolls. I have them all.
16. My older brother lives in Seattle. I am extremely proud and jealous of him. My younger brother still lives at home and I'm not sure if he will ever really know how much I worry about him. I am the middle child and only girl.
17. My mom told me that my dad thinks I "walk on water".
18. I used to suck my thumb. I used to bite my nails. I used to chew on my hair. Now I smoke cigarettes, even though I think they are gross. I am a nervous person.
19. I am nostalgic about the past. I can't quite seem to connect all the parts of me.
20. I have never had a one night stand.
21. I hate shopping, but I love getting new clothes.
22. If I could, I would wear tank tops all year.
23. I have to get fingerprinted next week.
24. I managed to get through all my stupidities without ever being arrested. I am good at not getting caught and playing the part of good girl.
25. I want a baby someday....
2. When I was in high school I was in the band, orchestra, marching band, pep band and chorus. I also played the hand bells at church. Now I don't play anything.
3. I went to SUNY New Paltz to major in theater. I came out with a degree in Women's Studies.
4. I am currently writing my Master's Thesis.
5. I was born in Oklahoma and haven't been there in over 10 years even though I have tons of family there. I want to go back but I am afraid that they will judge me.
6. I am obsessed with black women's fiction.
7. I just got my first "real" job...at 25.
8. I am out to my parents...and they love my girlfriend.
9. I hate the cold, but I love to ski.
10. I got "best eyes" my senior year of high school.
11. I miss my New Paltz friends sometimes...and I miss New Paltz in general.
12. Cleaning makes me feel happy and accomplished.
13. I believe in ghosts, but I don't know if I believe in an afterlife. Explain that one.
14. I hate being the center of attention, but I crave the spotlight.
15. I am a hoarder. I keep everything. Notes from high school. New Kids on the Block collector cards. Trolls. I have them all.
16. My older brother lives in Seattle. I am extremely proud and jealous of him. My younger brother still lives at home and I'm not sure if he will ever really know how much I worry about him. I am the middle child and only girl.
17. My mom told me that my dad thinks I "walk on water".
18. I used to suck my thumb. I used to bite my nails. I used to chew on my hair. Now I smoke cigarettes, even though I think they are gross. I am a nervous person.
19. I am nostalgic about the past. I can't quite seem to connect all the parts of me.
20. I have never had a one night stand.
21. I hate shopping, but I love getting new clothes.
22. If I could, I would wear tank tops all year.
23. I have to get fingerprinted next week.
24. I managed to get through all my stupidities without ever being arrested. I am good at not getting caught and playing the part of good girl.
25. I want a baby someday....
mike - 02/04/09 22:28
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK TRADING CARDS! awesome!
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK TRADING CARDS! awesome!
metalpeter - 02/04/09 19:14
Since I have said something on everyone else's 25 I thought why not keep it going. #13 does make sense. Some people think that being religious and spiritual is the same thing but it isn't. To take it one further you could even believe that trees and all life have a spirit and that there is a power called mother nature and even that there are demons and not believe that there is an after life.
Since I have said something on everyone else's 25 I thought why not keep it going. #13 does make sense. Some people think that being religious and spiritual is the same thing but it isn't. To take it one further you could even believe that trees and all life have a spirit and that there is a power called mother nature and even that there are demons and not believe that there is an after life.
02/04/2009 11:03 #47630
Job Desciptions and the likeMy 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....
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....
02/03/2009 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.
leetee - 02/03/09 13:56
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)
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)
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.
The best is yet to come. You still have to go to the week long orientation training at the end of February or March.
Desperately boring given that I'd already worked in the field for like 4 years. But the breaking point was when they made us play a board game to test our knowledge on waiver funded services.
Well, they made the others in class play a board game. I refused to participate.
we didn't do skip...that is the restraints one right? we aren't allowed to touch the kids or restrain them at all...we learned abbreviated self defense and crisis de-esculation... i believe it was called "behavior support" or something.
Did you do SCIP-R training? Peeps at my job need to be SCIP-R certified anually...