What's this ... an old fashioned post?
Good morning.This has been a long time in coming. Where we actually sit down to type something. I’m not feeling real comfortable with it yet, but maybe in time. I am not doing real well yet, but we are safer … we’re not actively suicidal. We are depressed, but that could almost be expected. We need to talk to someone this next week, but we are going to try dropping out of school until July next year. We need to understand what has happened to us AND we need to complete the accreditation deadline – most likely ending in April. I’m not sure if I can do it, because I will be under courses completed and under grade point average … because I wasn’t able to complete the final paper I needed to for the Cognitive course. I don’t think there is anyway out of that predicament. This being said, I’ve said enough. I can’t tolerate to look at it much right now.
Next. Well, right now there isn’t much next. I didn’t bring home work and I’m unsure of why. I do have one project I could work on and I might want to do that pretty soon. I’m working on updating my flash drive. I would like to do some file straightening up … Hmm. Should I do that now? I’m not sure I can because I’m uploading a video. Whoops video gone.
Ok, now its pretty much later. We did some experimenting. We’ve been working on updating our flash drive. We had everything from work, so we added our own files. The big comp at work and home and our assistant’s comp was in order, but we had to work a bit with the small work comp and the small flash drive. I think we got things in the order we want it, but it hasn’t been test driven. I suppose I could test drive it for here, but I’d have to run that through my mind again.
Basically what I did was to organize everything around the files on our big work computer. It’s got general classifications.
Work Stuff:
2000-2003
2003-2004
2004-2005
2005-2006
2006-2007
CARF 2003-2004
CARF 2006-2007
My Boards
My eBooks
My Meetings
My Music
My Pictures
My Policies and Procedures
My Print Shop Stuff
My Scary Stuff
My Videos
My classifications in my Annual Files are:
Administration & Staff Training
Advocacy
Correspondence
Forms & Resources
Individual’s receiving services
Meetings
Reports
Friend’s Folder
Scheduling
Then the most interesting Annual File is Individual’s receiving services which have:
30 Days and Annuals
Behavior Management
Goals & Objectives
Intake
Observations
Preference Interviews
Q Chrononotes
Q Notes
Ahh that feels satisfying to say … I am remembering now why I used to like writing. It gave me a chance to think between things. I’ve had a chance to go back and do some more tidying. Feels good to know where things are at. Who knows. Maybe in a week or two we’ll start cleaning the house again too? Hmm, better not go there yet. Baby steps, baby steps.
While we were straightening and organizing, we went back and checked on some work we’d given the Intern on the Qnotes. I was more pleased than not. Out of the 21 clients … she has 3 more to do from January through September (24 Notes), 4 more to do from June through September (12 Notes), 6 more to do from July through September (12 Notes), and 8 more to due from August through September (8 Notes), or in all a total of 55 notes averaging around 12 per day … meaning she has about 5 days left to spend just on Qnotes and she will be ALL the way caught up!!!!! Wooo HOOOO
We have no staffings this week. But a staffing the following week. So, she has scheduled to do for that an observation, and interview, AN05, an ICAP, Agenda, and Co-goals. Hmm that’s like a day to a day and a half worth of work. If I did the work for this annual instead of the Intern, then she would have 4 days this week and Monday the following week to be completely caught up in Qnotes. Wow. Does that seem inviting. I like that idea a lot. Hmm, How would that affect my schedule? Shoot she’s still going to need sending out Annual letters for the next 4 people. I don’t want to take her away from that … that could take about a half day … hmm, probably could still get those Qnotes done … cuz it’s really 4.58 days work if she stays on it. I know she would love also to have it all under her belt. Plus we’d be going toward State inspections all caught up. It’s so close to happening … it’s been about 3 years since we’ve been caught up in Qnotes. Damn I think we’re going for it. I’m not sure if this is the week she has Thursday off for the meeting out of town, but regardless … her next 5 days are going to be concentrated only on Qnotes and getting the Annual invitations out.
Hmm, yup yup think we need to have her write those letters, because were pretty sure that at least one of them is Spanish speaking and I don’t want to break up her system. I checked the files and it appears that she’s only got some of the mail saved so we’re going to need figuring that out.
AHA think we got it … We made another folder on the big flash drive. It will be for things the Intern should have easily available to her.
It has.
30 Days and Annuals 2004-2005
30 Days and Annuals 2005-2006
30 Days and Annuals 2006-2007
Goals and Objectives 2005-2006
Goals and Objectives 2006-2007
Correspondence
This way she has the old annual reports to make up new 2005-2006 reports and 2006-2007 reports and along with that the matching Goals and objectives. The correspondence is an extra touch. We’re just giving her the 2006-2007, but we thought that whatever was our business, she should know about. It’s rare I would write or keep a personal correspondence. I labeled the file going to her with this week’s date on it. She needs everything in it the first time. I think after that I will just drop new records from these files into her “to file.” She will need to look at it each time she gets our flash drive and update her records. That means I will need to remember copying things to her file on a timely basis. Hopefully, as soon as it is saved and I think that method is preferable rather than copying once weekly new files. That’s not timely enough. AND, we don’t want to jeopardize too much moving around of the big files. We would be more prone to error. I would like her copying over as well, just one folder, and thereafter individual files. Don’t want to place her in that much responsibility … not that she can’t do it, but I don’t want her to feel guilty if there were a mistake.
So she will take from the “To file” each time she gets/needs to use big drive. And, this will be a folder that stays as it is next to her file of my regular stuff. Because it is that file I will copy over once weekly to make sure we’re updated. I think it will replace my now empty Ann-Intern file. Then I will distribute those folders in the right place getting rid of the old folder which is the same thing. Or, we will find that the drive automatically replaces the changed files … that would be nice. Have to check it out. Hmm was going to do that wasn’t I … check it out. Ok, ok … better do that now. Ok, that is happening … It said before doing its thing that the new files would be copied over the old if they were identical. We started off with the drive at 4,784,381,952 bytes, or 4.45 GB (it’s an 8 GB drive). The only thing that we changed was we took a copy of this post and saved under our working on things file and the one for work we just emptied out … If the numbers go up just a smidge … then that will be a good thing and we should have everything the same except these two little post additions to both files. Ok, nothing to do now but wait. I think we’re going to be in big trouble if it posts a second copy of everything, because we took a risk and deleted everything from our home computer work file. No way to replace that if we have to reformat the drive again. Just have to see. It’s hard to tell minutes left to wait because it jumps from 168 minutes to 15 minutes. *Sigh*
Ok, this is us being patient.
One of the other things that occurred to me today … it’s been a very long time since we used the PDA and camera. That was a very big deal a month or two ago. Don’t know what happens to us. We had the same strange feeling as we reintroduced ourselves to Deb. I know she’s a really good friend, but for a long block of time … we’re disconnected from life as we had known it. I know officially it is considered “losing time,” it just seems so peculiar each time it happens.
We just wanted to point out … that in this last bit of time we decided to order Chinese and in less than a half hour it was delivered and now we are already finished eating. Pretty good, hmm? It’s gotten to the time of day the clock says 5:35 pm. I’m not really sure how all that happened either. Really not sure much of what we did today with the exception of going to the multiples meeting at 10 am. That lasted about an hour. We had General Tau chicken, egg rolls and I thought we were getting pork fried rice, but instead we got it except no rice. Eh. It’s ok. We ate until we were full, but when we put the leftover rice in the container with leftover dinner … it was as if we hadn’t started. I’m sure that’s pretty common though, right?
We had a little more trouble than before sticking with the not smoking part as we were writing. We didn’t play that idea out, but there were a few moments we thought to look around for something to fill the void. Noticing that what really takes a while on the drive is to copy picktures. That always makes the minutes go up. We’ve got well over 1200 saved because of the Web camera. We’re trying to avoid copying the videos, because when we did that it completely filled up the drive. But, in the process both at home and work of moving the file so we wouldn’t copy it, we lost the information. The biggest loss is that we’re now missing the stuff that used to be there for our self-regulation paper. What was saved on “my docs” was the copies of the readings and the three pages written formally. But, all the notes we’d put in order diagramming out the paper are gone. I also lost the last video that had been made and not recorded. And, we lost at work all the work we had put into the clients annuals and so on. The actual annual paper is done, but none of the talking through the process that we had saved. The loss could have been far greater, but it still pains me a bit. We’re just a minute from finishing the above experiment in saving to flash drive. Think we’re going to pray here for a moment.
Wooo Hoo … it worked!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pshwoo. Feeling pretty good about that now. I need to finish thinking out that set of thoughts though. Intern’s folder will fill up new stuff. We’ll copy it over to the right other folders to keep stuff together. New will replace old. Then Intern takes our new stuff entered during week from “To her” file then everything is peachy keen … I think what we are going to do though is to clear our files on the small computer, because they are now over on the big flash drive. And, let’s see … I know we want to clear the small flash drive, but what occasions will we use it to transfer data. … hmm, maybe if the docs are temporary? Or, maybe to the Intern sometimes if we are using the bid flash drive. We think the use of the small comps “my docs” will be always now temporary. It would be nice though to transfer over on both the big computers here and at work a copy of the flash drive in case we were to loose or damage it. But, I wouldn’t want to back-up twice the folders. Hmm. Let me check if I can do a folder parallel “My docs.”
Wooo Hoooo Good news! Not only can I do a parallel to “My docs” … called, “My alter Ego,” I can save it to the C drive with the other AND as it turns out there is a copy of my notebook and in reality????? I still have all my notes from self regulation!!!!!!!!
WOOOOHOOOOOOO!
Wow! Now I feel really safe … I have an extra copy at home of both big computers both at home and work. Saved “My Doc” type files in the C Drive and J drive (Flash). Now when I get to work I can do the same there. That means that every week I can back up in about 10 minutes both computers to each other AND to the Flash drive. Wow! That makes me feel great! And even though the folders are HUGE … I’m only using up a total of 42.9% of my computers memory … Lots more to spare, although I can tell you the next time … we’re going to need more memory! At least I am now feeling like I’m using my memory to good use.
Hmm, that’s a completed accomplishment! Hmm, maybe I better take my after dinner medicine. Or did I do that?? Well, I hope not, cuz we just did it again.
Hmm, double hmm. We just got off the phone with our Grandma. We figured it wasn’t too late and its always nice to start the new week having caught up from the last. Today, we put the pictures of her and her family and the MN trip up in our blog. I find myself a bit sad now as I look at them … I had been as we were talking to her. We didn’t talk too much about anything serious this time … Just was nice to talk and she seems pretty up beat. I told her the pictures were there, but I also had to tell her we’ve stopped school for a while. We talked about getting the accreditation work done and if they let us going back to school in July next year after that work is done. She seems to understand as far as not scolding, but I’m not sure she understands what trouble we were having. She does know that we’ve been very depressed.
It was a big deal being able to go to my Grandma’s to see her. But, about then stuff started falling apart and I’m not sure why. I remember while we were talking just now about we were into that week after we got back the old pictures and the old things about the family, we were looking up and especially about what was happening to Germany. I think about that time we were going through the Encyclopedia Brittanica. Hard to tell where next or how stretched out and extended we became. Remember feeling pretty strong and positive. Not sure if but we might have already cut off from school. Know there was a big surge interest in trying to get caught up at work. There were some days when we first got back from MN, we were using work time to study the history. And, then we got involved in that Brain thing too. And, of course the videos. It seems as if the next block was going to Dr. M’s to find out that we were just a couple of sessions away from no insurance money to pay his sessions. That’s when we got like mega depressed and suicidal. This last week, with Dr. M gone we tried to stay focused on work. We hope to get some real good stuff done this week while Sr. is gone. I’m hoping there are not a lot of interruptions. We’re going to be real ticked off if people start taking off and not coming in.
My Grandma says she’s going to bed early tonight. Think we might be doing the same. I feel like this weekend has been pretty mucky. Like we are just figuring out we’re somewhere between restless and trying to relax some. Still have this feeling like we should be doing something, but the message we’re trying to send through our brain now is that its going to be ok. And, that it is ok to slow down a bit and concentrate on less. We really don’t want to get involved in too much project stuff with a couple of exceptions. We want to work on CARF and we want to do some writing on our own. It’s been really scary thinking that we didn’t know how to write for a while. Our thoughts weren’t working proper. I would like to somehow write more about our Grandma and things that she remembers.
Hmm, just before we hung up we talked about her tape recording some of her thoughts as they were coming to her. I wonder if we couldn’t do that now. Maybe get her a little tape recorder. I’m not sure if she’d be able to hear it back, though she could turn up the volume as loud as necessary … Hmmm. Just thinking.
Monday Morning …
Ok, here’s to thinking that just thinking might not be such a good idea for us. After we wrote that comment last night, we were taken up in an urge to purchase. The night before it had been a very expensive chair … we didn’t get that, because we ran short of that much money and they weren’t open except business hours. We were short the money because we’d paid our bills, but forgot we had put the bills on auto payment, so that amount of money went out twice. I figure its not the worst thing to pay ahead, but instead of being able to save the extra … leftover from school money that didn’t go to the car, we spent it on a small camcorder and its equipment. I think they call it like a mini DV or something like that. This is what we ended up with …
Ok … umm that might have cost a lot. We spent $700 total shipping and all. Umm, timer was for our Intern … so she could do goals. I guess I figured it could have been worse. I tried hard to stay with a low cost camcorder. I wasn’t sure whether to go with a full DVD or just a mini-DV, but in the end I felt like I was getting more for the money with the mini-DV, especially since our purpose is going to be primarily getting video to computer rather than DVD. I think you can do that too, but you need to mess with it some. I liked more the thought of getting it to computer and doing stuff with it more than just straight out putting it onto DVD. I’ve had not so much luck getting DVDs to do what I want and I’m still leary of them. Probably a score of reasons, but primarily cost. The basic camcorder cost $400, which is about 60% of the total cost, but it was down 25% from original expense of the camcorder. I liked how it looked and that it was small. Pshwoo … took a look at what $8,000 buys you too. I’m under no illusion over what I don’t have. My new understanding on the little beasties is that I got almost bottom costed one on the market. There were some dipping into $100-200, but I felt satisfied with what I got. I with I would have had one when the boys were younger, but at that time they were 2-3 times the cost.
Next question might be … what do I need with a camcorder at this point, or were we just in the spending mood? Sigh … hmm maybe that we had a hole burning in our pocket was first consideration. But the camera soon followed … We started because we were looking for a recorder for my Grandmother so she can “jot” down ideas. Then we decided that we should get her one like ours. But when we looked them up we found the electronic ones that were getting us a little excited. We looked at the purchase price of our tape recorder and found it was $160. Then somehow we got taken up that we could buy a camcorder for just twice the money. We figured the PDA has a voice recording devise and we could send our Grandma ours. It is barely used, but a good solid quality machine that isn’t so techno driven. It has basic record functions.
So then … now we gotta make the deal work. There is, of course the option of shooting the clients, but I don’t want that to be a prime purpose. Pretty much we want to shoot stuff for ourselves that is blog worthy. We’ve had a lot of enjoyment with the web camera and figure that a camera not attached to wire and computer would be kind of cool. This particular camera comes with a docking station that is supposed to let you connect to the computer or TV without wires. I’m still figuring that there is a hidden catch to that one … like it needs some special kind of machines. But, there is always hope that it’s straight up.
Hmm, better stop looking … I think I about done accessorized this camera. I saw another ad for it … it claims that this camera is the ultimate middle of the roader … not too cheap, and not to expensive. That’s a pretty good deal, especially for someone who’s never worked a video camera. Let me tell you … I am just one mini-van away from turning into a soccer mom. I’d have to take pictures of someone else’s kids, but don’t put that past me! Hehhee Pretty much I figure this is all the trappings of a middle aged person in mid-America, living on a moderate income for modern suburban warfare.
WoooHOOOO we get more dangerous by the minute!
posted by Ann Marie @ 9/11/2006 06:10:00 AM
Comments: 1
