Ayn's Multiple World

Chuggin along here on a Tuesday Morn

Good morning. This is me. We’re up a little earlier today – It’s 4:15 am and we’ve done some small tasks. I think it is because we went to bed a little after 8 pm. That’s right we had taken our medicine proper. I’m not sure if Sweetie called, or if my phone lasted without being plugged in, but I’m thinking that if he did call I slept through it. I’ve got the phone charging now … somewhere during the night it got pretty dead. I had forgotten how blissful it is to fall asleep early. I guess I was exhausted. Oh dear … we’re not going to start yawning again are we? We started the dishwasher … if nothing else that was good! This morning we’re doing the coffee … so maybe we’ll hold up.

I’m fighting the urge to go look at the MP.com site. I’d like not to use all my morning time there – it would leave me with little time to write. We admit though that we woke up thinking about Brandi the staff that had quit. I didn’t think she could leave without saying something to someone. She told Maria that she had gotten a job somewhere else. I can’t blame her for that, but I wish she’d have the courage to have finalized properly her leaving the center. It’s always hard when people don’t give two-week notice. She put people in a spot covering for her when we could have been looking for someone else. And, then the one we don’t want back – Candice – she’s expected back today. Ugh! Sister says that she’s giving her a written warning, but its officially only her first … I thought she’d gotten at least one or two before … now we’re going to need suffering through her until she gets officially 3 warnings which is to say we’re expecting her to come back and screw up. It’s particularly a bad situation because she knows Sister doesn’t want us and we know she doesn’t want us. She’s sticking around for the check. She doesn’t have any friends left at the center. She’s turning in work that’s substandard. I don’t know how bad the work has to get before you do something about it. I know in the past I’ve messed up and I’m still here and the staff has messed up and their still here.

I think there’s going to be resentments today and continuing on.

We’ve finished writing up the new goals for Candice’s staffing tomorrow and we’ve gotten the majority of a report finished that we’ll complete this morning. We’ve gone ahead and made sure she’s got her annual schedule in-tact and we’ve gone through her books to see what’s missing. I’m really hoping that Sister takes her down to three days. If all she is doing is staffings and the books and Qnotes, she’s not needed three days a week. Even 4 days would be better than 5.

In the meantime we had gotten a chance as stated to do some work yesterday, but then the afternoon was shot. I spent the time in Group 1 and Leadership doing first goals with the clients – teaching the new Sister (whose a sister who’d been here before, but not done real work for the center). And then I straightened up some more records while she was back in the group for a half hour, and then I spent the rest of the day with her going through record-keeping and catching up on local gossip. She had always let me know what was going on with the Sister’s over at the main center in Chicago at the North side.

I think she wasn’t being appreciated by her Superiors and she said neither was Sr. Theresa. Sr. Theresa works hard for the Sisters, and if she’s ever given them complaint, it’s because it was needed. She does a hell of a lot of work, with little to no assistance from the Mother House. That she’s got a gruff personality has been known for a long time, but then it sounds at least like they know up north that Sister runs a tight ship. Sister Florine is the new sister we have. She said she knew when they sent down Sr. Mary Patricia that it wasn’t going to last. I guess her reputation is to be very strict and unbending. I think she did under that situation a good job in that she got a lot of work done, but I also know her work wasn’t complete in that she didn’t keep up with the beads or paperwork like goals and chrononotes. I think she did some of this and from what it seems she’s not fully behind in her work. Some of the goals haven’t been done in a couple weeks, but since then they had been. I know part of that was that Sue was in the room.

I talked to Sr. Florine yesterday about the goal book. It is in a messy shape. The book has gotten to be too big to keep handy. There are papers falling out of it, it is uncomfortable to carry and there’s everything in their including the kitchen sink, but yet its missing some of the important records. Like how to do some of the goals. I think I’m going to talk to Sister today to get it caught up again. I’ll have to take out some of the paperwork, Sue had kept in there like the finished goals. That should be in there … It should only have current goals and a copy of the goal data sheets that have been submitted to the Q’s. I never really have time for this kinda stuff, but the way it is now, it is unfair to Sr. And, we don’t want to get a new person messed up. Margarita was in the room yesterday too and she remarked about all the beads left uncounted. I don’t begrudge Sr. for not finishing them. It was too much work for her to be doing on her own. Her last two days she had been stuck with two entire groups – even for Sr. that was a lot to leave on someone without assistance.

So, I guess we start off on a clean slate. Sr. Florine says that she won’t be getting involved in church work or donations, which had kept her occupied before.

She is to be there for however Sr. needs her. I personally would like to keep her work load light here so she could actually HELP sister with donations. But, that takes a bite out of working time. And, right now we need a body for the group.

Especially, since Sure took herself out for two weeks. She told her Dr. that there was a good chance she’d get bumped if she went back to work, so she’s out on two week’s notice. I think to be fair to Sr. Florine that she should get help on Monday, Thursdays, and Fridays, when she has the bigger leadership group in addition to Group 1, but that means most likely that one of the Q’s would have to take over.

I could see that for the next 2 weeks that Candice should do Leadership for those days and then she’d have from 2 – 4 pm to do her own work, in addition to work getting done on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. But, after that? UGH! Sue will be back.

Also most people taking vacations did so in June. July – today starts out the new year.

Hmm, starting off the new year … This means that we have to get our stuff in order so we don’t mess up. THE ANNUAL REPORT HAS TO GET DONE! I should have done it yesterday, but Ronald’s annual had to be prepared … that’s the one thing you can’t let go of, because the meeting is going to be held and things have to be completed.

Candice will take that back today, so hopefully this morning I can do the Annual and finish it up. Then the afternoon I will work with the other two groups and Sr. Florine. She was a housemother before so she’s used to having the groups around her and she’s a natural at filling in the chronological reports. I was really pleased yesterday to go over that with her and to know how good she was. I made sure to tell Sr. that she was a natural. At this point, she’s probably the best at doing notes. She’s clear and succinct. We showed her how to break down the group so she can get to everyone during the week. Even with 20 people on her caseload between the two groups. Basically if you got 20 clients and 4 days – do 5 a day, and of the 5 you’re doing do the ones who are workers and going to be out the next 2 – 3 days, especially since Friday is the 4th and there won’t be any program.

WOOHOO! Did you hear that? A three-day weekend - that’s sweet.

Hmm, got something caught in my throat … I’d used the last of Rich’s Turkey meet in a tortilla. Maybe I need a drink of something cold, hold on. Ahh there … that does it! Rich had gotten us some grapefruit juice that had no sugar added.

Hmm, have we really talked about our baby-boo this morning? I still like him even though he’s gone. We’re getting on ok. I thought of him last night as I was coming up the stairs after work … F, S, S, M and then T, W, Th, F. SOOO we had reached the half-way mark. We’re not sure exactly when they are coming in on Friday. Or, if he’ll be coming in for sure. On the trip up there they’d saved the last 1 ½ for Saturday morning. I’m sure they are going to be motivated to get back. Everyone is looking forward by that time to a hot shower, a clean shave, and their own comfy bed. Plus, we know Rich will be thinking of one of my lonnnnnng backrubs! That’s my boy!

I hope he’s getting in enough fishing. I forgot what he’s going to be doing this weekend, but I know the next weekend he’ll be going fishing for a four day weekend again. Nope, nope doesn’t seem fair to me either! I hope those fishes know what they are getting themselves into. HMPF!

I’ve got a whole lot of tiled pictures of Rich on my computer screen. So, now when I think of him – I look over and see him grinning back at me. Awe jeese. I really love that guy! Ok, Ok, I know shhhh that’s enough of the mushy stuff. After he’s been gone a while – its’s about all we’re thinking of him. I think of the old days when Dr. Woollcott would leave. I had such a hard time believing he still cared about me when he was gone. Now, I think I’m better able to hold those feelings.

Especially, too with the boys. Not all the time though … Last period I thought Joe didn’t love me so much. We still have our worries of his harsher thoughts after being at my Grandma’s funeral. It’s hard to know where he was at, but this last time last Friday he was all smiles.

That was nice of Sr. Florine yesterday. She asked how the boys were doing and she asked about our last surgery. I thought that showed some good interest. Nobody barely ever asks how I am doing. That’s usually my job and even I don’t ask as much anymore. I don’t want to get in relationships that aren’t reciprocal. And, that being said – opened us up to listening and asking Sr. Florine questions. I have to say though I was honestly interested. I did note however, that she was looking over her shoulder thinking that Sr. Theresa might come out at any time. We had to break our talk short when the Cable guy came in to look at the Internet and we’d had to get Sr. Theresa for that. We’d gone 45 minutes late on the day, so it was about time anyway. And, then the mail guy had gotten there … and in total – I got 2 more books. I think there are two left to come in. Yesterday night I was too tired to read though. That’s ok. Maybe tonight.

I have to say that I disappointed in the chat on Sunday night. I thought people were doing somewhat of their roles, but it was just per functionary. They asked how are you, but after you gave them any kind of answer then they would stop being involved in you and they’d go back to others who were having illusionary crises – like I broke my fingernail! Well, not quite like that, but SOMEthing like that!

Double HMPF!

I’m really grateful that Sr. Florine came back and it was voluntary. She was a little miffed in that she found out that the Sr.’s had planned she’d come back two months ago and they hadn’t told her until a week ago. She had said that she was on the outs with a lot of Sr.’s, especially her Superiors. I think they thought that her honesty was disrespectful. And, she said a lot of it was because they were being females. I think she meant to say they were being catty. She said too that part of the problem here was that Sister Mary Patricia wasn’t talking to Sr. Theresa. She’d say nothing hold Sr. with both halves of the conversation. Sr. Florine said she’ll only talk to you if she likes you. Ouch! That had to suck! I think Sr. Florine was right in saying they are all human. I think living with only females could be tough PLUS the sister’s were all expected to work hard – even Sr. Theresa whose in her 80’s.

Another thing Sr. seemed to know – from another visit was that Candice doesn’t belong here. She had heard her teaching before and telling the group personal things about herself – I think she must have pointed out to the group something about her legs. That really sat poorly with the Sr. She said that Candice acted to young and immature. She didn’t think she seemed to care a lot about the clients either. I don’t know if she heard Candice with her arbitrary arguing with the clients. But, that’s to “Look forward” again too. PLUS, now she’ll have animosity. She’ll act like a threatened cat. She’s burned her bridges as to people trusting her. Tough to come back to a job where no one cared about you.

I have to ask about my own nature and good will. I think I will tell her today to please use her earphones. That seems to have really stuck over the last couple of weeks. I really don’t want to hear her being in my space. I figure it’s a small office and if I wear ear phones, she can too. Usually, I feel threatened enough not to push much, but that was one of the simple things I really disliked about her. I don’t want to bring “bad blood” between us, but that’s sorta how I feel now having to listen to her junk. Shoot am I being cranky … I apologize for that sense of me.

It’s not that you haven’t heard it before. Just that I don’t like how I’m feeling right now and I can’t imagine it’s any better for you. Maybe if I stop complaining and try to think of something that would put me in a better mood.

OK< OK … don’t think about THAT much … he won’t be home until Friday!

Hmm, Missy needed some attention for a few moments. That was nice. And, we’ve had the music on for awhile. Just light stuff, but I can appreciate that it was MY choice.

Hmm, my tummy didn’t feel so good. Lost that part. :*(

Ok, let’s try and think of something better? Listening to Bon Jovi – Always. I like that song.

Hmm, I’d like to get into the books a little, but there’s nothing much to say about that. I think we’re doing terrible too at writing to people. I don’t know who may have written that I lost through the email box. It’s making me feel bad. Hmm, maybe that is my tummy feeling bad again. Shoot, shoot. UGH~!

Ok, better now, right? Don’t think there’s much left in there. I know gross … you don’t have to say it, I know.

Maybe I should lay down for a bit? Naw, I don’t want to do that, especially since I haven’t showered yet. Maybe we could do that and it would help us feel better? Ok, early yet, but it might work 

Ahh, that felt good and I said g’morning to Vickie too. Cool, cool.

Hmm, anything with Thom? Let’s see what he’s doing today… says he’s got six minutes to sleep, then they’ll be cleaning up and then in an hour, he’ll be out in the battlefield with M203 til 12:30 his time (2 ours) and then He’ll be doing AT-4’s unctil 8:15 tonight. Yeeks Then he’s going to have something labeled CM from 8:15 until 1:30 am – AND they are still going to have to wake up at 5 am. Yeeks. This seems terrible. I think it’s practical application in combat. M203 is a grenade launcher and AT-4 is a rocket launcher. Sure, sure … you never know when a guy is going to need that. This is the part of every Marine being a rifleman battle ready. I’m not sure about chaplains, but I think about everyone else is included. That’s what makes Marines always ready.

Sigh … it’s going to be ok, right? Says tomorrow the guys will get to stop about 4:45 pm. Maybe in there they’ll catch up in sleep? Thom mentioned it last time how tired he was … He says they’re not always given a chance to rest up because they want them prepared in all situations. I saw that from reading McCoy’s Marines. You could have to go days and days without sleep. If someone was beating up on you … it be a bad idea to take a nap. Yes … be better to get practice. Hold in there Thom!

You can do it. I know he knows that … so its ok if he gets squeaky in between.

Just that no Mom wants to hear her kid is having a rough time. But, then that again is some of the affect of being a Marine. They just work damn hard.

Hmm, hadn’t seen that before. There is a MCT video for $12.50 (includes shipping) I think I’m going to order that a little bit later in the day. They leave a phone and email address, but with a credit card better to talk to someone. They’ll be open from 9 – 5 pm

Ok, about here … we wrote a few topics over at MP.com … but, shoot … that’s the thing you just fall easily into it. Seems there are things that need to get said!

OOHRAH!

posted by Ann Marie @ 7/01/2008 06:53:00 AM Comments: 0