Aliiiiiiive!

[spritechan]

Lulz, I'm on a hospital network right now. I'm at civil court, waiting to sit in on a hearing. I has no internets until at least Monday, when we should be able to hook up Qwest. Time will tell. As for at work, LJ doesn't appear to work, or maybe it was buggy or something. I gotta catch up on so much!

Oops! Had to interrupt to go sit in on some hearings! I'm back now, looks like it works at work! I have about 45 minutes until my next meeting.

Anyway, just a quick blurb here:

We got everything moved into the new place. At first we forgot how ghetto it was, and then got a little sad, but after we put together our big furniture and got some of our "needed" things unpacked, it started to look really cute. It's almost the perfect amount of space - the only real issue is NO cloest space save for what could pass as a pantry D: We've still got to figure that out! For right now a bunch of our clothes are hung up on those cheap portable closet things, but they're super unstable and I don't like the idea of my clothes exploding on the floor!

Today is my third day at Mental Health Resources, and I'm both still really excited and really nervous. A lot of this (and I seriously mean at least 80%) is going to be working in the field, so I got a personal mini (HP) laptop and a Droid. I know the Droid is going to be my lifesaver, because it has GPS superior to my own phone, and it stores my Outlook calendar to pull up at any time to check or change my appointments. Sweet! Today and Friday are by far going to be the busiest days this week. I have this break between 10:30am and 11:30, but after that I have a transfer meeting (getting my first actual client), a team meeting (all the case managers are broken up into teams - I'm on Team 4), and a meeting with my Team Lead. Then home! Tomorrow is pretty open, with a training in there. Friday is intakes and transfers, and another training. By the end of next week I'll have about 14 clients, and I assume it's just going to pick up from there as new intakes come in.

The drive is worse than my old job, since I'm driving in traffic at the same time as everyone else, but I live the same distance away as I did the other job - 6 miles. It takes me about 20-25 minutes to get to and from work. It's a touch longer than I think it would be because they're tearing up two of the biggest cross-streets in the city in order to build another section of Light Rail (like an above-ground subway? It's a train tbh and really handy in Minneapolis/Mall of America if you're going somewhere on the line), and therefore everything is PANIC at all times XD But! At lunch time sometimes I can go get Steve and we can eat. Yay! I love the independence this job provides, and the willingness of my colleagues to help out. It's very nice.
 

Comments

[silver-tiamat.livejournal.com]

Our closet, and all of prospective closets in any apartments that we've been considering in the heart of the city, is really inadequate for two people sharing a space. We just went to IKEA and were looking at the wardrobes and I went, "You know...I just wish they'd advertise it more honestly in the listing for apartments when you really need to consider getting a wardrobe. You know, like at the end just put: BYOC--Bring Your Own Closet."

New job is so exciting! =O I was job searching and I saw a posting for a Case Manager (here in Portland, obviously XD) and thought of you! It looked like a really nice job set up, at least in the posting and company. I considered applying, but I really couldn't match most of the necessary qualifications, so I decided to direct my energy into other resumes that wouldn't be so much of a stretch. =(

The work load also seems so exciting! It's like a Real Job! XD

Glad to have you back, even semi-permanently! It's been lonely here without you. =(

[vixenofflames.livejournal.com]

FOR REAL! I was stupid when we looked at the place and didn't even notice that it didn't have closets! D: It was one of those things where I told myself that if it didn't have them, it wouldn't be a big deal because there were so many other things I liked about it. Sooo, now I'm dealing with it!

Yessss it's good to know that people like me are needed in the area, because I definitely still plan to move there soonish, and Steve is still on board with it as well so long as he can tie up all the ends he feels he NEEDS to before we go. I know it's super lame still looking for a job, and you're probably feeling kinda similar to Steve - that everyone around you finds jobs, and YOU are qualified and amazing and have a lot to offer, and yet you get left behind :( I'm rooting for you every day, even if I can't post it.

It is! That's the scary part. Like, I'm doing a REAL JOB that AFFECTS LIVES and my title MEANS SOMETHING =O It's a lot of responsibility! Which also makes it feel cooler, and more important, because then I get all puffy-chested and like "YES. I CAN DO THIS." And then I imagine donning a Superwoman outfit or something.


D'awwww! /// I've missed you too! Glad to see you're still updating! This weekend if I can steal internets I'll catch up on your entries, otherwise I'll be spending one of the earlier weekdays once I get the internets soaking in your life the last week and a half!

[silver-tiamat.livejournal.com]

Yeah, and frankly, you CAN buy things with additional space (like we have =D), but you CANNOT buy other things for other apartments like location, price, atmosphere, etc. It either has those things or it doesn't, so you might as well find a place you like the idea of living in, and just add in the things you need extra for (like we were considering one of the things that could add additional storage space for our kitchen as well, since we have trouble with that, but chose to just do a major reorganization instead).

Oh yeah! I can keep my eye open for those kinds of things, to at least see if it's just a total one-off, or if they will pop up here and again in different places. There are quite a lot different places for like substance abuse recovery, because we ARE a city, and all cities have their recovering junkie populations like woah. But, I'll see about other things. I've MET those who work for social services at the Museum (parents, foster parents, and adoptive parents mostly), so I know there have to be places around here that have jobs for them. But...still. It'd be good to know that there are other offers out there, even if it's nothing you'll act on asap. =D

Yeah, sometimes it's really hard to keep looking after so much failure, but I don't resent the people around me who have gotten these jobs--every single one of them has had to really EARN their experience or such, and I can't resent them for that. I DO resent these companies misleading people into thinking that a degree means shit to them, and colleges for helping to perpetuate that lie. THOSE are the places my anger burns hot for. D=

Haha--I'd LOVE a real job. I really, really want a real job like that. I know I have some people's idea of a great thing (boyfriend who works and makes enough for us, while I can just do "whatever I want" all day), but honestly, this type of idleness was never my idea of a good time. I wanna don a SuperAthena outfit. T.T Are you so far still having a good time with it? I mean, it's still a new and shiny job, so it's gotta be exciting still, but have you noticed any pitfalls that may become more serious as time goes on, or is it really just about as good as it seemed?

YAH! Update more! I wanna hear more about the job, and how the moving in has been going, and just how you've been mentally and stuff. Haha, my life has probably not been very easily readable lately...a lot of long posts. XD

[vixenofflames.livejournal.com]

So true! I can't see the closet issue as being a huge one. Maybe a minor annoyance. But currently it's okay.

I don't know about Oregon, but I would guess that it's similar to Minnesota in that for chemical dependency stuff, they'd like your specialization/degree/certificate to be in drug counseling, specifically a LADC (licensed alcohol and drug counseling). While I am good with the junkie bunch, I'm not sure I'd fit into a mainly chemical recovery setting (see my most recent journal entry on my opinion of drug centers XD). But! Being that Portland is a major city, you've already mentioned the homeless population. Many of them are likely to have some sort of MI/CD background, and I bet some would want to get back on their feet (though some people really do like being "off the radar" and don't mind being homeless).

I'm glad you're still able to be happy for people instead of resenting them. I'm not sure I'd be the same way. D: Well, I probably would, actually, just be depressed that I wasn't finding anything.

It's funny that you mention that, because I feel a lot of times that if I truly didn't have to work, I wouldn't. Or at least I'd like to work on my own schedule and not have to worry about money. This job that I currently have I think will work a lot better for me in terms of fulfillment as well as independence and responsibility. But it'd still be cool to be rich and sit around playing video games all day and have a food service like the playboy mansion where I'd order french fries and asian food at the same time and my amazing chefs would make it for me XD

I updated my journal on some of the questions you have above. The job IS still shiny and new, but I don't think I'm being naive about what I'm going to have to do, and from the way I see some people's energy being (tightly wound and stressed), I know it has the potential to make me stressed and burned out too. But I am going to sincerely try my best not to get to that point.

We haven't done much unpacking during the week, because we each sleep when the other's at work, and our time together is precious. But this weekend I think we're going to try to get as much put away as we can. The only things that HAVE to wait are the video games, because the shelves are going to be screwed into the wall, and we should paint before doing that.

Overall my mental health has actually been pretty good. I've been allowing myself to sleep the amount of hours I need, and getting up in the morning hasn't been that hard. It's not like when working for People Inc. where I'd hit the snooze and then fall asleep for awhile and then have like 10 minutes to get ready and be tired and grumpy. I've been really good at being awake once I get out of bed (I get up between 6:45 and 7:30 depending on what time I need to be at the office). I've been down about my weight, but I plan on walking this weekend, and my office is on the 4th floor so I take the stairs every time unless I'm with a coworker and they choose the elevator (don't wanna be rude!). With the weather finally warming up (it was around the low 60's most of the week) I'm feeling a LOT better and more positive. This winter was really hard, and not just for me! It was long and dark and just plain mean. I'm glad to finally be rid of it! Here's to hoping for a long warm period!

[silver-tiamat.livejournal.com]

Neither of the centers I saw on one of my job-runs required anything specific in the field, or even much experience. They really seemed much more interested in folk who want to do it, who have had 2-3 years dealing with people in a psychiatric-ish way. And yeah, we do a have a homeless population, though compared to other bum-populace I've experienced, we have remarkably mellow and rather polite bums. It's really kind of...odd. o_o

You'd think that it's lots of fun to be able to just chill and play games whenever you want, go online when you feel like it, read as much as you'd like, etc. But, really...especially if you're the only person not working (like, your spouse still works), it's like you CAN'T. The guilt, or sense of wrongness, is way strong. It's actually REALLY hard for me to just spend the day doing nothing but fun things. It's often to the point where Brian has to say things like, "PLAY STAR OCEAN. DO IT NOW." Besides, I have things I want to accomplish. And all those things require job experience. I can't get experience if all I do is play video games. =(

Our winter was much more mild compared to yours, but compared to past winters here, it was rather extreme--long, cold, and mean as well. We had more snowy days than in recent years combined, and even now, it's still colder than it was last year. So, now that things ARE finally warming up (we're still in the 40s-50s, but they're HIGH 40s and 50s), people are emerging from the woodworks to soak up as much sun as possible. XD

[vixenofflames.livejournal.com]

Maybe we have it stricter here... MN has a really big social service system, so that would make sense. And I've personally never met an unfriendly homeless person. I know people have stigmas against them, but they're just people, too!

I hear ya on the unemployment thing. I used to get so mad at Dan for sitting around playing video games all day (and NEVER applying for jobs) when I was working 11 hours a day, attending class, and losing my entire savings to pay for our duplex. >=[ My first year working at People Inc (minus about 2 months) I worked only one night a week for 12 hours. I felt so bad about Steve having to work so much, while I lazed around. I too rarely got any "fun" things done because I felt badly about it. But say, if he was a famous football player, I might not mind so much XD

I'm perfectl accepting of relative comparisons for weather. This winter SUCKED, for mostly everyone. Haaaaaate! Steve is still trying his best to promise only 2 more winters here, but I think it'll be closer to 3, because he likely won't go back to school for an AA until the Spring, and he might not even take a full load depending on money issues. We're still working out the kinks.

[silver-tiamat.livejournal.com]

It's also possible that it's just not quite the same type of job--like we could have positions here that don't require the same sort of high certification because it's a job that's little more than a really glorified volunteer-y type job? I do know that things like this DO differ state-to-state. In CA you can get a job teaching at many private schools with only a B.A., no credentials, and no teaching degree(s). But, here in OR, no way, no how. You not only have to have credentials, but must ALSO take OTHER tests and exams and classes to qualify just to be a SUBSTITUTE teacher somewhere. It's rather incredible--and not in a good way. It keeps a lot of people who could make good teachers from going into it because they don't have the money to spend on getting into a job that will never pay them very well. =/

I dunno--you find that when you're the only one who doesn't work, you've got a LOT of time to fill during the days. And the less you do that's productive in a day, the more meaningless your life feels. It reminds me of authors like Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte who attacked the lifestyle of the women of their time, who were not supposed to DO anything and how incredibly worthless and boring it felt.

Oh, I know you'd treat it fair--our weather was still bad, even if it wasn't as bad as yours, but it NEVER will be, so apples/oranges--but what I mean is that I could still go OUT and walk, and we weren't trapped in the house at any point. So, it isn't really quite the same in severity of limitations. Though, the one day we had actual REAL snow on the ground (almost a foot), everything shut down. We're just not prepared to deal with snow here--there aren't systems in place or the machinery to deal with it. XD

Mmmm, it's been suggested to me that if I'm not ready to go back to a graduate college type thing that I should start taking thing to at least get certifications, for the chance that they'll help. It still won't help me with experience though--and in a world where no one even glances at my degree as even possibly useful, I'm not sure how much this will help. But, I'm not dismissing it as an option.