Ayn's Multiple World

Ok, we're on a week-day roll

Good morning. I’m here! Today is already Thursday though. It’s ok, right? Just that it’s Thursday and Dr. Marvin isn’t going to be here today. He’s still on vacation. We asked and he said that this time it was pleasure and not work. Maybe when he gets back we can ask him where he went? He will usually tell me that much.

We’re trying not to be having a hard time when he is gone.

Yesterday was a good day in as far as we only had two groups for a total of 1 ½ hours. Today, Friday, and Monday, we will have the large group. Today we have to be thinking in that … tomorrow is the group presentation. We did a newsletter article yesterday about the group project of Africa. I was disappointed though in that we’d forgotten that it was a presentation day and sister had not announced it over the intercom, so we missed hearing the presentations of groups 3 and 4. I didn’t catch it until later when they I saw they’d posted their countries out in the hall. Sister has display tables set up so we can set up our things. From the appearance … it looked like those two groups had put a lot into it. And, we ran into Sr. Florine who said that Kathy especially had a very good presentation and had given the groups good information on her country – Italy.

I don’t think our group has it as polished as I would like, but our group was high enough functioning so that most the work came from clients and not as much from the staff. It shows in some of the unevenness of the pictures cut out on the posters.

I am proud of their contributions, especially on the masks and the menus. We’ll have to work harder at it today to finish up the presentations. We’ve only got until tomorrow at 1 pm. AND, we’ll be presenting on our own so there will be time to spend.

Just wish I’d caught the presentations yesterday.

As of this morning … we’re proud to say that we are officially 40 pounds lighter since May 14th, and we’re 70 pounds lighter since January. I think that is a good deal. We’re proud to have hit these marks. We’re at 267, which is the lowest weight we’ve been in years. Hmm, I found what we were looking for. We’d written a small entry for Wednesday, August 27th, 2003 - yup, yup 5 years ago. Apparently at that time we’d weighed a high of 297 and we’d lost since May that year 22 pounds.

So it would seem that was about the lightest we’d gotten. That would have put us at 275. From our vague memory, we stopped going to the Y shortly after we’d posted about it in the AOL Journal. We might have gotten down to 269, but about then we freaked a bit and started slowly gaining our weight back.

I’m figuring though that we’re doing pretty good.

We were lookin at a few other entries made way back when … as I read them I have the sense that they were written just yesterday. I’m surprised in how many entries have been posted and that they fall anywhere within the sun’s radius. But, that all exploration will be saved to another time.

We talked to Maury and Joe AND Thom yesterday. We talked to Thom about a picture of a hawk he’d taken a picture of. He explained that the hawk had come down and swooped up a squirrel, but that the squirrel had worked himself free mid-air and had dropped to the ground and before the hawk could regain his prey, the squirrel had run away. He had a lucky day. It was cool that Thom could have seen all of that.

I had known before though that his eyesight was good. It shows in the games and being able to shoot a gun.

Hmm. Ok, that didn’t last for long. We snuggled in with Honey bunny for a bit … It was 4:15 and we thought he was going to get up, but he stayed in bed until 5 am, and then showered dressed and left a few moments ago at 5:30 am – so, we stayed in bed sleeping until then. What a bum we are! Damn he’s got a cozy bed though!

So … ok … where do we pick it up from here. I think we missed a day of writing yesterday. So now we need to think through both days. I think there are a couple important notes, in that the CARF books have come in. For the record that’s 10 pounds of reading material, Yeeks! But, we’ve made a little dent. Pretty tiny little dent, but something nonetheless.

We stayed at work yesterday until almost 7 pm. We’d gotten into what we were doing and didn’t want to stop. It’s so hard to get time to do the work on anything beside the group that when you get the time it’s very hard to stop. We got out the paper tiger again and we added a couple sections into the computer on leadership and governance boards … that is the first two areas this time. We added mostly from the standards book, but as well also from the survey book. The one states the standard and the second asks about the standard in question form.

We wanted to see if we could figure whether it was going to be really handy or not to go through the work of putting things through the tiger. So to do that, we figured we’d ask a couple of the survey questions. We got some very good information and detail. It pulled together reports and documents that I would have never in a million years been able to come up with. We were just practicing with it by scribbling out notes on sections we found to include in answering the questions along with some document numbers … so we might write down survey report doc521, or Consequent of keeping minutes of the board meeting, doc235. The doc references will give an exact location to look for the information. That’s a very handy thing to have.

I think the system is going to work. There is a third book that is pretty much like the standard book, except for in a different format. It gives just a couple of lines for each standard and it puts it out in a form much different than the outline in the standard. It’s worded though more like the standard than the survey. And, the other handy thing about it is that it gives a numbering system so that you can rate the strength of the survey response. This is very handy as a checkpoint in that we can come back later and bring the numbers up from a 1 low level to a 4 high level. I think I’d like to make a copy of the book though along with the survey book. Sister says she doesn’t need the standards manual, which is the most important of the three books. I think that if we wrote our responses though not in the book, but wrote it in the paper tiger book, it would be easier for sister to take and copy to her book.

Sister came by yesterday right before we left and we were talking to her about what we were doing. She had thought it a good idea I think and she’d said something about it would be good if we could just go by my notes and in that way she could read without doing the work of typing everything out on her own. I think that would be a good idea as to work load for the sister. I know that CARF is hard on her, but we’d have to do it quickly enough so she doesn’t worry about the time it is taking.

I think we’d put it in a format where we’d line up the standard next to the survey on our print-outs so that she can have the extra space to add comments that we could include in the work. I like it because it is the best method of changing and adding to things as we go.

I did show Sr. Theresa the stack of about 1 ½ inches of material that we’ve yet to enter into the data … And, we would still have to write summary reports and we’d have to analyze them in yet even bigger reports. PLUS, we have to do a lot toward performance reports. I think I’m going to have to go with an easier method of keeping track of client progress. I liked the method before, but the rating system wasn’t very keen. It would take a lot of special time to use the old system on ALL the clients. Last time I included just 3-4. I’ll really have to think my way through it, but at least this year that part of the report is on section M and N – way back into the report. I like starting with the leadership first. It makes more sense … even though I know that CARF is going to mess with it again next year and put it in some other form.

Whoops better get a shower. Rich reminded us that we have administrative meeting, but we also have a group. I’m hoping because there will only be 4 people in the group at that time – 2 will have gone to work, that they can just take care of themselves during that time. I would very much hate to miss an Administration meeting because I was doing something else. I think of the Administrative meeting as one of the singular best things about my part of the program. It’s where we talk about things such as CARF and all the other business and program aspects.

Ok, back from the shower and we’ve gotten our bag packed and medicine taken … at least some of it. We’re almost out of all the pills and are out of some now. We called in the prescription yesterday, but knew that Dr. Marvin was going to be on vacation … we were hoping that someone else would approve the medicine. I’m not sure when he’s getting back, but the drug store said they might be able to give me a little medicine until he returns. I should think of these kinds of things before he goes, but then he coulda helped too. I know, I know … someone like me has to be responsible.

That’s Rich’s favorite expression to us. He asks for us to be responsible when something needs to be taken care of and we just want to complain in our smaller voices. It’s like I know you’re not happy about this, but something has to be done and it should be done by you! ARGH!

Ok, little more time … about a half an hour, where do we want to take this? I’d like to be thinking of CARF though I’m not sure there is much more to think out there. I know that I’d buried my desk in paperwork, and the only result of doing something is that something else is being left undone. Working on CARF, good! Not working on schedules or annuals bad. We did have another annual this week. I think it went pretty good. Cathy carried the session, we had the quiet CSO person and the mother was agreeable to everything. In those situations, it is just a little too easy. We only had an hour to prepare for it though, so I can’t say that’s real good. The job got done, just it’s a lot of pressure on the situation.

Hmm, as to home? Rich didn’t get home until 11-12 pm last night. We were sound asleep and didn’t hear him. We had watched a movie on Marines of Lima Company. It was more like a documentary, but focused our attention. I don’t know what to do with feelings and thoughts of how some of the guys had died. It upsets me to no end to know that Thom could be burned to death, or shot and shrapnelled to pieces. I think it’s kind of morose to even write about let alone think about, but those things are inevitable I believe. I’d always hoped that I would go before my children to think any different just feels crazy. Thom it seems is trying to up the odds.

I had stated earlier I had talked to all the boys. Maury and I talked about the new TV and making cable connections. He knows that a cable guy is coming out Tuesday and that it could be him. I’m not sure though, because we’d left a note saying we needed the Internet speed checked too and I know that he’s not working on that so far. It would be neat to get him. He talked about making formal complaints of a couple of his peers for shoddy work, or not showing up at all. I think he is serious about maintaining the reputation of a company he is going to want to grow with. I know that he won’t gain friends that way, but put in his situation, I would have done the same thing. He said he likes the guy enough who had done the shoddy work, but not so much that he’d cover bad work. Maury took pictures of what he’d done. So good for him.

He’s a little worried that I will get a bad tech. I appreciate his concern and that he said he would come by to check it afterward. He said though I have to talk to the apartment people and get permission to drill holes if I’m going to get the job done correctly. Maybe I can do that on Tuesday the day they are coming out. I think I’m going to try working a half day – to 11:30 am lunch time. I just have to be back here form 1-4 pm. Maury also warned me that a lot of times the guys are late and won’t call. So, we need to prepare our frustration levels for that.

Now as to Joe! He asked if I would like to come watch him and his karate school participate in a competition nearby. Of course, we said YES! I’ve enjoyed being there for him in the past. I have to be there at about 9 am Saturday morning, maybe a little before. I would really like it if Rich could come too, but I’m not sure if he can make it or has made other plans. Most likely that is the case. I will bring my camera and use Joe’s camera too to take pictures. I’m glad I could do something useful.

Hmm, that pretty much catches me up. I know there is some work stuff we’ve missed, but not so much that I’m going to worry about it. So, what should be next?

Nooo, let’s not do CARF again this soon after!

Maybe I could write something of how we are doing in general. I realized this week that there was a bit of hesitation, especially on Monday when we didn’t want to go to work. Sister says that there is a new guy that she’s interviewing. I think that we wrote about that already. He’s about 55. That’s all we know of him so far. I’m so scared of the eccentricities of various employees, I can only imagine what might happen with the next one. Sister and I talked a little about it last night. She’s only playing with thoughts and ideas as to him splitting his time between Q work and DSP work. I worry that he won’t take the job because he’s got a Master’s degree and should be paid so much more for his time. I wonder about his ambition if he took this job. I think I’d feel a lot more comfortable in meeting him first. It makes a lot of difference, because he would be back in our space and most likely sitting at the desk between Rich and us. We would also have to sign off on his work, because sister doesn’t want to go through the whole rigamorooo of getting him licensed.

For the record, I think getting a guy in would be a good idea. Just I don’t know if we could have enough that he’d want to stay. It’s hard to do training when they leave so quick, but then again sometimes you get to be so happy they leave that you just say fine!

It’s been a while since we thought of Candice and all we can say is Pswhoo. Nice that she’s not there, we don’t miss her. We did say something about Sue being gone now too, didn’t we? So for the record, we’ve lost in the last month or two … Brandy, Sue, Candice, and Sr. Mary Patricia. That’s a lot of staff turnover. We’ve gained Sr. Florine, but otherwise … we’re all trying to cover for those who have gone. I’m in group 1, leadership and have taken over Candice’s load, and as mentioned earlier, I took on Group IV for about 45 minutes yesterday. There really isn’t enough time to be getting my work done. It explains why my desk is so messy.

I’m really starting to worry about the annual reports not getting typed and all the Qnotes. Pshwoo there’s a lot to be done.

I’m thinking that maybe I can get a few things done today while we’re watching the movie Born Free, but then again, we could see the movie tomorrow and more people would be able to appreciate it. Hmm, but then again we could do it today during the Admin meeting, but then it’s a matter of 4 people seeing it rather than the full 9.

I really think we should then wait until tomorrow.

I haven’t really thought out too much of today. I know that we have to work on the Interviews and maybe think through the presentation of the food servings. I haven’t gotten it all worked out yet. Hmm, I wonder if the Admin meeting is actually tomorrow and the staff meeting talking about workshop jobs is today. Did Rich get that right? Better check into it first thing once we get there. We also have to be concerned about goals. I’m trying to get them in, and am finding that Holly is really no help.

Hmm, ok … we’ve gotten dressed now and should probably be heading out the door.

It’s a few minutes early, but not too much. Thinking it’s best we get through this day … and head toward the weekend! WOOHOO!!! Not sure beside Joe’s karate what’s going to be done there, but we’re lookin forward to it being a weekend none-the-less. Maybe we can get to some kind of writing that is more thought provoking than just processing what’s already happened. Too, we would like to get some of the work done in editing the book. I’d very much like to see that project progress. K?

Let’s set some goals and get to it!

posted by Ann Marie @ 7/31/2008 06:48:00 AM Comments: 0