November 2008 - Awake and Dreaming

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time for some more cat pictures...

It's time for more cat pictures! Right now Sophie is shedding, getting ready to grow a winter coat I guess. I've had to use her cat rake on her, which she HATES. Therefore it involves a lot of sneaking up on her. I think she's hiding from...

Published 29 Nov 2008 8:16 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: sophie
in memory of stupidity

Another one of my clients died. This is by far not an unusual thing, but the circumstances were just so stupid. In many ways, this is a follow up to my last post, about taking responsibility for ones actions, because sometimes, when you don't take...

Published 28 Nov 2008 5:55 PM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: death, work
non sensical ramblings about homelessness (part 6)

It's interesting not being in school. I no longer am forced to really examine my thoughts, feelings and biases about things on a regular basis. In some ways that feels really nice, but in other ways I feel like I'm kind of losing out. I've...

Published 28 Nov 2008 2:16 PM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: attitudes, homelessness, pet peeves, policy, shelter, social work, substance use, thoughts, work
if you build it they will come

Every night we keep a record of everyone we have to turn away from the shelter. I'm a huge fan of this record, for me it serves a few purposes, but mainly, I just really appreciate the fact that the documentation records each and every person. The...

Published 26 Nov 2008 4:21 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: homelessness, nights, shelter, snow, thoughts, winter, work
false alarm

I think I've written about this before, but it happened once again. When people come into IPDA, they're supposed to be searched. This may seem rather trivial, but a bad search can lead to bad consequences, hangings, cutting, or fire. Yes, that's...

Published 26 Nov 2008 2:29 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: intoxication, IPDA, nights, shelter, whining, work
no more spam

So, after being hit by the same spammer as some of the other social workers out there in blog world, I too have been forced to enable comment moderation. spam.stops.here. Read More...

Published 25 Nov 2008 5:30 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Brand New Social Worker
passed out in the snow...

One of the things I do at work is go out in our van (with someone else) and drive around looking for people. We hand out condoms, safe rides home, and a watchful eye. People in our city know that we will treat difficult situations with compassion and...

Published 23 Nov 2008 6:34 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: first aid, nights, snow, van patrol, work
Best lines in a client chart

I saw this in a detox client's chart last night... "client was in space tonight". yup, in space. I think they meant to say that the client was in a good space, or something. Read More...

Published 22 Nov 2008 4:23 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: paperwork
when everyone else takes a sick day

Everyone but me called in sick the other night. I got to work only to discover that none of the other scheduled staff were coming in. I was not impressed. I did however know that there was a stomach virus going around, and I was actually sort of expecting...

Published 19 Nov 2008 5:52 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: nights, shelter, sick, work
gong show

Sometimes, the only way I can get through my shifts is to have a mantra that goes like this "i love my job, i love my job, i love my job". And the truth is, I really do, it just has it's moments... take one of the days this weekend for example...

Published 17 Nov 2008 6:22 PM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: crisis, intoxication, IPDA, nights, whining, work
new cat pictures

One of these days I'll get back to posting about social work, but for now, here's some more pictures of the cat. We went to the vet yesterday. Sophie was NOT impressed. Read More...

Published 15 Nov 2008 4:14 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: sophie
feeling safe

We're trying really hard this month to help people find accommodations outside of the shelter system. We've been filling up every single night and turning away more and more people as the weather gets colder. What's the problem? People don't...

Published 13 Nov 2008 8:22 PM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: attitudes, homelessness, pet peeves, substance use, thoughts
sleepy day off

This is not my cat. However, my cat also does not come with a snooze button; she is getting better though. It used to be when my alarm when off, the Sophie cat was right up on top of me, headbutting me and making sure I got out of bed. It was annoying...

Published 13 Nov 2008 8:13 PM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: nights, sleep, sophie, the enforcer
SNOW!

Well, it snowed here a while back and while most people are trying to dig themselves out, the homeless are trying to find a place to dig in for the winter. The first night was horrible, it was practically a blizzard. I had to psych myself up in the car...

Published 12 Nov 2008 6:22 PM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: homelessness, nights, shelter, snow, social work, thoughts, winter
remembering

It's amazing how the things we did in our past can begin to invade our futures no matter how much we try to ignore them, forget them, or pretend they never happened. Nobody likes to remember their mistakes, especially the ones that affected us in...

Published 9 Nov 2008 6:30 PM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: emotions, me, thoughts, work
macaroni and cheese

I fully intend this post to be (at least slightly) more coherent then the last one! This week when I was volunteering we had a really great group in helping us, so I took the time to actually eat with one of our guests, someone who also stays regularly...

Published 4 Nov 2008 2:28 PM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: attitudes, homelessness, street ministry, thoughts, work
Halloween in the tank

Friday was one of those nights on which I had to remind myself numerous times why I like my job. Friday night was not a day on which my job was likable. Why? Well, it was Friday, it was Halloween, and month end welfare checks had just come out. Oh, and...

Published 3 Nov 2008 6:21 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: homelessness, intoxication, IPDA, work
The sad cat

This is my Sophie cat. She's pretty awesome. Although, I've been working on clipping her claws... one paw at a time, with a day inbetween. She is NOT happy. I still have a paw left (back right) and a one claw on each left paw when she FREAKED...

Published 1 Nov 2008 5:10 PM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: emotions, ethics, sophie, thoughts, work

November 2008 - Awake and Dreaming

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time for some more cat pictures...

in memory of stupidity

non sensical ramblings about homelessness (part 6)

if you build it they will come

false alarm

no more spam

passed out in the snow...

Best lines in a client chart

when everyone else takes a sick day

gong show

new cat pictures

feeling safe

sleepy day off

SNOW!

remembering

macaroni and cheese

Halloween in the tank

The sad cat