January 2009 - Awake and Dreaming

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harm reduction

I'm a firm believer in harm reduction. I really am. I definitely promote safer use, safer sex, safer life, safer whatever, but every now and then I feel like screaming JUST STOP DOING IT ALREADY! On van patrol we hand out condoms to the girls, guys...

Published 31 Jan 2009 9:52 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a (not quite) Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: harm reduction, prostitution, thoughts, van patrol, work
Frozen to Death

This is my last post about death for a while. I promise. Well, my last post about death until someone else dies I guess... Death is pretty common in my line of work. I don't even know how to write about this one. It wasn't a client I knew particularly...

Published 31 Jan 2009 6:09 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a (not quite) Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: death, thoughts, winter, work
Leaving the Shelter

I really want to be sarcastic about this picture. I really, really do, but I'm not going to be, because finding a picture of "empowerment" is hard. It really is. I mentioned earlier that the enforcer and I got in a fight, it was about empowerment...

Published 30 Jan 2009 8:31 PM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a (not quite) Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: attitudes, homelessness, mental health, shelter, substance use, the enforcer, treatment
Quick Update

This is how we play cards at my work... wearing nitrile gloves; who knows what's on those cards! This was one booooooring night in the drunk tank. On the left you can see our "ghetto" crib board - a plank of wood, holes pounded with a nail...

Published 30 Jan 2009 8:09 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a (not quite) Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: learning, life, links, me, sleep, sophie, work
25 Random Things - meme

I promise I'll post a real entry today too, but first, a meme I just did on facebook. I'm not going to tag anyone on here (the idea is to tag 25 people and get them to do it), but if you do it, I'd love to read it, so just let me know in the...

Published 30 Jan 2009 7:35 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a (not quite) Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: meme
yikes... too much.

Maybe it's stupid, but I always feel bad posting rants on my blog about how tired I am. I always vowed I'd never be on of those "emo" bloggers who just complains about how much life stucks and how the world is out to get them. Especially...

Published 28 Jan 2009 4:34 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a (not quite) Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: crying, emotions, mental health, shelter, sleep, sophie, staff relations, whining, work
i'm sorry I can't be perfect...or not

I've had to shift manage quite a few times lately, and twice in the last week. I honestly don't mind, but it's also not something I want to do everyday. Definitely not everyday. It's really easy, until something goes wrong and then everything...

Published 24 Jan 2009 8:30 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a (not quite) Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: me, policy, staff relations, thoughts, work
things I love...part two

The last time I wrote about the things I love I wrote about specific clients who really touched me. I think today however I'll just make a list, because I need a reminder of some of those great things in love, those things that make life special,...

Published 23 Jan 2009 8:20 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a (not quite) Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: emotions, life, me, thoughts
leap frog...or something

My last post about finding a person passed out in the snow reminded me of another story, a kind of weird and slightly embarrassing one. This happened a while ago, but I don't think I ever got around to posting it. A coworker and I are driving around...

Published 22 Jan 2009 8:03 PM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a (not quite) Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: firsts, intoxication, van patrol, work
and sometimes it's so so so worth it

There are definitely moments during which I hate my job, moments when I question everything I'm doing, and not doing, and of course, there are moments when I'm simply so overwhelmed I feeling like quiting. Then there are the things that make everything...

Published 22 Jan 2009 7:36 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a (not quite) Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: attitudes, first aid, thoughts, van patrol, work
and now she's gone

I write about death in my blog a lot. In my line of work, death is a common thing. I've written about people dying and I've written about people killing, this is the first time I write about someone murdered. Somehow it's different this way...

Published 21 Jan 2009 6:10 PM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a (not quite) Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: death
self motivation

I've been thinking a lot lately about motivation, gratification and feedback. Something that's very different for me about my job right now is that I get almost no feedback unless I do something wrong. I figure this is pretty normal, it's...

Published 21 Jan 2009 5:38 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a (not quite) Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: thoughts, work, yoga
I'll fly away

I need a holiday SO badly. I need to see best friend. I need to get away from this city, this snow and all the homelessness. I just need a break. A break where I don't have to clean my house, drive my car and worry about stuff. I've requested...

Published 21 Jan 2009 5:29 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a (not quite) Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: church, friends, holiday, homelessness, life, yoga
juxtapostion of reality... part two

I drove my car to yoga yesterday. It's three blocks away. It was FREEZING cold out, and the car was "warm" anyway because I'd had it out earlier. As I was driving I was pondering how incredibly lazy I felt. And then this nagging guilt...

Published 15 Jan 2009 10:56 PM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a (not quite) Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: homelessness, thoughts, winter
the man in black

The man in black is a mystery. He sleeps in a doorway; every night. It's the same doorway, so we know where to find him. The man in black is hard to see in the shadows, but we know he's there and so we look for him, make sure he's okay. The...

Published 15 Jan 2009 10:19 PM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a (not quite) Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: homelessness, van patrol
just a little sleep

It's amazing how much of a difference sleep makes in a persons life. I haven't posted this week because I've been exhausted. I had something every single day this week including a doctors appointment at which I discovered I'm anemic. Joy...

Published 10 Jan 2009 10:45 PM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a (not quite) Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: friends, life, sick, sleep, the enforcer, whining, work
the further adventures of fat cat

The Sophie cat was acting weird tonight. She was spending an on amount of time here... the scene of the crime it turns out. I didn't discover what she was doing until I thought I heard mice. Turning around I did not see Sophie cat eating from her...

Published 5 Jan 2009 5:54 PM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a (not quite) Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: life, sophie
digging deeper - treating people as people

I'm not entirely sure why, but this photo evokes really powerful emotions in me. Tonight was my night off, and I spent some time working on a project for church. I was looking for photos which so a variety of different people from a variety of different...

Published 5 Jan 2009 12:38 PM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a (not quite) Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: attitudes, church, intentions, intoxication, IPDA, me, thoughts, work
and this is how

Jim is sleeping at the back of the shelter. With his head under his jacket his indistinguishable from those sleeping around him. It is only once I wake him, he's the last one up, that I realize who he is. Jim was once a very successful man. The wife...

Published 2 Jan 2009 5:41 PM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a (not quite) Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: alcohol, health care, homelessness, shelter, thoughts, work
"holiday's" over

My holiday is almost over. I go back to work tomorrow night (or well, I guess it's tonight seeing as I'm writing this after midnight). I'm in the process of staying up late so that I can sleep all day. For some reason, it's working! Having...

Published 2 Jan 2009 10:25 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a (not quite) Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: holiday, learning, life, nights, work, yoga
examining evil aka examining my biases

There's one client who for a long time I was scared of, petrified of even. Ever since I started working on the side of the tracks where he makes his home, I've been scared of him. He's the kind of person who has a reputation in the neighbourhood...

Published 2 Jan 2009 10:04 AM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a (not quite) Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: attitudes, intoxication, me, mental health, thoughts, work
that new years post

It's a new year and in a way I feel obligated to write a new year's post. I've been debating it for the past few days as I realize I'm only doing it because I feel like I should and I try to avoid doing things for that reason. However...

Published 1 Jan 2009 10:27 PM by Awake and Dreaming - The Ramblings of a (not quite) Brand New Social Worker

Filed under: christians, life, me, meme, social work, work

January 2009 - Awake and Dreaming

Syndication

Recent Posts

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Archives

harm reduction

Frozen to Death

Leaving the Shelter

Quick Update

25 Random Things - meme

yikes... too much.

i'm sorry I can't be perfect...or not

things I love...part two

leap frog...or something

and sometimes it's so so so worth it

and now she's gone

self motivation

I'll fly away

juxtapostion of reality... part two

the man in black

just a little sleep

the further adventures of fat cat

digging deeper - treating people as people

and this is how

"holiday's" over

examining evil aka examining my biases

that new years post