I got off work early today, it was my boss’ way of thanking me for being assistant bitch all day. he group I was helping today was impressed with my hella mad organizational skills. One lady commented ‘You just do everything!’ and without thinking I responded ‘Everything and everyone!’ Ya, that’s why they only let me talk to crackheads.

She says that I will get a day or two off soon for all the extra work I have been doing. It would be nice if those days off coincided with my next trip so I don’t have to take a ’sick day’ but I don’t think things will be back to normal by then.

We still have not got paid. The CEO is going to Springfield tomorrow to get us some moneys. I hope. He’s had meetings with just about every department that pays us and so far I have not seen nearly enough checks come in to cover payroll.

I will be happy when my stimulus check comes. I know I’m supposed to damn the man and save it instead of spend it but I’m spending it on a tattoo. Doesn’t that count as damning the man a little bit?

This keyboard sucks and the shift keys don’t work sometimes so I have to go back and make sure all my capital letters are there. What happened to being able to buy a functional keyboard for $3 at a thrift store? I went looking this weekend and all of the keyboards looked like a child or dog chewed on them. This is what sucks about not hanging out with geeks anymore. I have to go all of the way to the suburbs to steal keyboards from my little brother. I will be in the burbs soon for my neice’s Hanna Montana themed birthday party. Who is wrapping her gift in Miley’s topless picture? The best aunt ever!

On Kevin MD (one of my favorite medblogs) there was a post about Pain Exhibit, an exhibit of artwork created by chronic pain sufferers. The gallery and explanations are very impressive. Some of the works remind me of PostSecret, some cards are about pain being hidden or an illness being a secret.

When I was in undergrad, I wanted to be an art therapist. I didn’t go into the program because I thought it was too specified and would limit me. I don’t see many job postings for art therapists so I suppose I was right. Most likely art therapists are working average social work/counseling jobs and just adding art therapy where they can. Looking into art therapy was just my attempt at having a creative job that I always wanted but knew I wasn’t talented enough to pull off.

I like the advice giving in the last post, I’m going to stick with it.
Trent Reznor: Keep up the free download thing. It’s the best way to get the kids to listen to an “old band” (as my little brother said about NIN).
But you need to do something else to get noticed. I suggest a zombie rock opera. I haven’t thought too much about the plot but I have an idea for the final scene. It’s a NIN concert, crowded, standing room only. Mid-concert, zombies slip in unnoticed. The place is full of goth kids, no one notices too much red lipstick (or is that blood??). And no one notices people being ravaged by zombies in the sweaty mosh pit. These are fast zombies, like 28 Days Later. The zombies work their way up toward the stage and you’re all like “Oh no, they’re going to eat Trent’s beautiful face!” A couple zombies get on stage and kind of hover around Trent. You think he’s going to get eaten and then his eyes flash white (like the zombies). He is the Zombie King! He finishes the show as the audience gets eaten and everyone is sliding around in blood like mud at Woodstock.

I’m so writing this screenplay and throwing it on stage at Lollapalooza.

Some advice for whoever designed Chicago’s parking meter pay boxes:

I’m already annoyed that I have to park my car, go to the pay box, give it money, print out my ticket and then go back to my car to put it on the windshield. Get something like an I-Pass for parking already.
It’s also nice that you can use a credit/debit card to pay for parking if you don’t have any change. But how about some directions for the card reader? I don’t like shoving my card in the slot beyond my reach and not knowing if it will come back out. I especially don’t like this when I’m running late for a hair appointment (btw, hair is highlighted red and looks awesome). Directions come on screen when your card is all of the way in but by that time it’s too late! The evil parking meter may have swallowed your card.

Things that I kind of like about Chicago transportation:
I went to my alderman/ward’s site and I’m signed up for email reminders when there will be street cleaning. Signs are posted but I always forget if it’s the 3rd or 4th week of the month. No more tickets this summer!

And the bus route by my house just got GPS bus tracking. I can tell that 5 busses are bunched up 20 minutes away! Now they just need to make a text number for the bus tracker for those of us without web enabled phones.

Unrelated, I made an entry filled with old pics I found at my parents’ house on my MySpace page. I figured it’s best to keep personal posts like that off this blog.

More unrelated, a coworker is out injured, not sure when she will return, and I have been stuck doing her job and mine. My boss talked about getting a temp but we are having all sorts of financial problems so that won’t happen. Today my boss sent me an email saying that if she needs to change my duties while the coworker is out, let her know. Nice of her but I don’t want my primary assignments changed, I want someone else to do these secondary, not my job, assignments. I wish I could combine the finances of a for-profit with the awesome of a non-profit.

When someone says “sunny day” does it make you think of the Sesame Street song?

Fine, it’s just me. You have no soul.

I spent a lot of time at work fixing someone else’s mistakes. A coworker gave me a bunch of addresses and they were all so close but not right. Like 312 Main St instead of 314 Main St. I told on him and it made me feel better.

Boy and I went to a Buddhism study group at a different temple. This one looks like a real temple and it even has real Japanese people! The temple where we have been attending meditation courses is also a dojo and so it looks like a dojo and it’s attended by mostly whiteys. The study group at new temple was more diverse in race and age. And they don’t even do sitting meditation. Lazy Buddhists!

For clarification, the meditation I am referring to at temple/dojo is Zazen. The teacher at the 2nd temple practices Pure Land Buddhism which isn’t so big on the sit down and shut up.

Updated! A commenter said I used to much lingo so I (filled in the blanks).

I talked to my boss about clinical supervision again. I’m getting nowhere with outside agencies taking me on as a volunteer that would also get clinical supervision. (hoops I have to jump through to get a C in my LSW)) Individual LCSW’s will supervise me but I would have to pay them weekly. The person my boss referred me to that said she would supervise me wants me to get a client for us to talk about.

It just happens our substance abuse program had a couple people leave recently (every counselor) so they are short staffed(the CEO is going to be running group soon). I offered to do my clinical hours with them and go to their weekly meetings for my supervision hours. I’ve already done intakes (trying to piece together a substance abuse history with a person that claims they don’t have a drug problem) during my internship so I would be able to jump in and help. My boss wants me to have a new experience (thinks I care about learning) and doesn’t like my idea. So much for trying to appear(key word) helpful.

My boss wants me to wait until another employee takes her LCSW exam in May and have her be my supervisor. This person is awesome (young and cute) but not a manager, no supervision experience and what she does isn’t that different! She works with dual diagnosis clients(crazy and like the drugs!) instead of just substance abusers. Anyone thats worked in substance abuse knows that most of your clients are actually dual diagnosis but haven’t been diagnosed yet or refuse MI(crazy) treatment(lots of pills).

So this chick better pass her damn test so she can supervise(gossip with me in her office) me. I want to get on this licensing thing. I kind of want a CADC (Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor) just because I will be doing my hours in substance abuse but I’m pretty sure I won’t be taking a direct service (actually working with clients and not hiding in admin land) substance abuse job anytime soon so I won’t be able to complete the work requirements to get certified( 2000 hours of paid direct service).

In other fun work news-lots of horny clients! Nothing like starting your day with a developmentally disabled woman telling you she likes sex! (Didn’t happen to me, happened to a male coworker.) Woo!

So I said I would check my weight regularly now and change my diet/exercise if I wasn’t losing weight. 10 days ago, I had weighed myself at work and only lost 2 lbs. I weighed myself today and I’ve lost 9 lbs (total)! So I am doing something right.

I’m having trouble finding a scale that doesn’t suck. Just for the record, Newline Well Balance scale sucks. It worked once then died. But Amazon appears to have a friendly return policy. I bought a 2nd scale, a Conair Weight Watchers scale and it hasn’t died yet. It told me the same weight that the Newline scale said before it died so I’m hoping it’s somewhere near accurate. The psychiatrist at work said don’t trust the Bally’s scale because it uses weight (it’s like a doctor’s office scale) and needs to be calibrated to be accurate and usually gyms don’t keep up with that sort of thing.

So the things I have been doing differently: actually eating more to keep my calories above 1200/day. Eating more protein. I started using FitDay to keep track of my food again and I like when the pie chart shows that my calories are equally coming from fat, carbs and protein. Using the elliptical just to warm up, not as my main form of exercise. I’ve been doing more time with weight machines lately. I work out my upper body harder than my lower body because my knees suck and if I do a lot of exercise involving them, I’m too sore to workout the next day. So my back has been getting stronger which will improve my meditation attempts. Oh, it’s lovely when things fit together.

Yoga kicked my ass tonight! It wasn’t regular, lame Bally’s yoga. An instructor came to the acupuncture studio to teach a class. There were blocks and hip pulling involved and my knees are screaming.

There was more awesome at my workplace last week. We had a community meeting, meaning outsiders came in and we discussed an issue that impacts the community. We had one too many outsiders in the form of a crackhead that wandered in. My guess is he saw food and a bunch of people sitting in chairs and occasionally standing so he figured it was some sort of church. He came in and made himself at home. One of the speakers even let him get up and talk. He tried to read a Bible verse and then told us about war and Jews and Germans. We had security sit next to him so he stayed quiet but security wandered off and he got out his harmonica to accent what people were saying with his lovely out of tune music.

We had some scheduled entertainment, too. There was a guy that did some kind of inspirational dancing that involved a mask. I think it was supposed to be a mime mask but looked a little Friday the 13th to me. We had a rapper do a few songs and everyone really liked him. My boss tried rapping with him at the end and uh..not so good. Stick to church singing, boss.

I’ve been trying really hard to be involved at work which is why I am attending crackhead mime meetings. I feel like I am doing a lot but I’m not doing anything research related. You know…what I was hired to do. The next grant is due end of May and we have not even started on it. I have done all the prep work I can and my boss needs to take the next step so I have something to work on. Not that I don’t like reading my Zen books at work but I should be doing something useful occasionally.