Academic Envy

A couple of my work colleagues are back at school this year, doing an upgrading program for working professionals.

Just overhearing them in the office have academic type conversations about white privilege, gender disparity, and social norms is making me itch to go back to school.  Or just butt into their conversation ;)

The Big Barn in the Sky

For some reason I remembered this story the other day and thought I should share.

This was a couple years ago when I was in an intake worker role.  A young woman had been referred to us who at the time was staying in temporary crisis housing for people with dual diagnosis (in Canada that refers to mental health and developmental disability).  Usually we would do intakes at our office but since she had no transportation, was not familiar with the area where she was housed and was in a pretty dire situation we agreed to meet her at the place she was staying.  Since this was an off-site visit with a client we'd never met before, and since we were curious about the program supporting her (hadn't dealt with them before) my intake partner and I decided we would both go to meet her.

This young woman had been through a lot.  Most notably, her mother had died recently and that among  other things ended her up in the crisis housing.  She had no other family, but did have close friends who were now her guardians and she would be moving in with them soon.  Despite everything she'd been through and her DD, she was engaging, optimistic and had a sense of humour throughout the interview.  We got all the information we needed, told her about our program and let her know we would be in touch.

Once outside, I commented to my partner that I was impressed  and pleasantly surprised at how together and well this young woman had seemed.  She looked at me with utter confusion and said "What?!  She was either psychotic or her cognition is lower than we thought.  All that talk about how her mother "bought the farm"?  I don't think she understands that her mother DIED, I'm really worried about her!  She thinks her mother is on a farm somewhere!"

At which point I burst out laughing and had to explain the euphemism.  It was a cute moment.

Wurkd fer mee

A co-worker exclaiming over some (presumably) outrageous spelling errors:
I'm not hooked on phonics people, but come on!

20minutes@350degrees.com

From a client assessment by one of my co-workers:

Roger is responsible for paying his phone bill independently.  He does this through online baking.

*yes, small things like typos amuse me.*

Did I Miss the Party?

Email sent from a co-worker:

I would like to thank those that have given to the food drive for families that is being run by my client via the Fellowship Church program.


The champagne closes on Wednesday October 19th

Email of the Day

Hi Everyone,

Sorry but I seem to be the barrier of bad new lately!


I think this homophonic mix-up by our IT person may have been a Freudian slip.  We have been plagued by network and system problems in the past two weeks, and this was from an email informing us of more problems.  She probably wishes she could throw up some kind of tech-force field to protect from any more problems.  I think "bad new lately" is just some kind of code for "everything sucks right now".  I should really give her a break since she's been working day and night to try to fix all this stuff.

;-)

Forgive me...

...while I take this (small) moment to gripe.

Last week I (hesitantly) let my supervisor know that I am ready to pick up a new client, as I need to increase my monthly contact numbers.  Some of my current clients are doing well and decreasing their support.  She pushed me to take two new people, but I insisted on one for now and letting her know by weeks end when I would take the other.

Monday morning we received an email that one of my co-workers will be off for an indefinite period, and her clients will be reassigned. 

So I got three of them.

*headdesk*

I'll be okay.  And I sincerely hope my co-worker is alright.  Just needed to whine for a minute.  I'm done now.

Inquiring Minds Need To Know...

Co-worker to a client on the phone: Who or what is that screaming in the background?!?

Foot in Mouth Disease

A co-worker of mine is having a bad week.




She works in the front-reception area of our office. The other day a woman from a community partner came in to pick up a large box of information pamphlets. My co-worker kindly offered to help, as she told the woman she should not have to carry such a heavy load when she was pregnant!



Ah, turns out she wasn’t pregnant.



A day or two later, this same co-worker was at a community event hosting our information booth. She was handing out these little cards we have with a black square in the middle where you press your thumb to read your “mood” (kinda like the old mood rings). Red=tense, blue=relaxed, green=calm etc.



A man approached and she gave him a card. He looked at it and said, what is this, is it working? Oh no, she says, you’re black! Uh, yeah, I know I’m black he says. Because he was. Black. Ack, no, I meant you’re still black she stumbles. Offended and confused, he walked away saying I know that, you don’t have to tell me!



She went from white to about 5 shades of red.



It was good for a laugh back at the office at least. Which we all need every now and then to help go from red to blue (or green, whatever).

Tinnitus too

We have a new microwave in the office. The tone when you push the buttons is extremely annoying.

The photocopier won't stop beeping because it is angry that it has nearly run out of cyan toner.

My co-worker must be very popular today, because she left her cell phone on her desk and the beeping, bleeping, and ridiculous ringtone are incessant!

There are at least 6 people in here all on the phone at once, yelling at the poor people on the other end of the line in order to hear themselves over everyone else!!!

THIS NOISE MUST STOP!

If this is some weird test from the universe to see how well I handle what many of my voice hearing clients experience every day then I fail. Miserably.

O-H@W

Coworker speaking to a client on the phone: I don't know what that is, but I'll give that a Google.

Really people, maybe we're taking this whole "google" as a verb thing too far!

Stupid Stories from Work and from Home

#1 – Work

A co-worker – let’s call her “Kimberly” – was back to the office for the first day after her vacation. Kimberly had an appointment scheduled with “Jeremy J” at 1:00.

At 10:00, Jeremy J shows up to meet with Kimberly. He’s early, but she makes time to meet with him anyway. They sit for about an hour talking about the program supports she can offer, and the type of help that he is looking for. He's really enthusiastic and feels this is "just what I need!" They schedule a follow up appointment for the following week.

At 1:00, Jeremy J shows up to meet with Kimberly. Ah, wait a minute…you’re not Jeremy J, he was already here, and you don’t look a thing like him! It sinks in for Kimberly that she MET AND ASSESSED THE WRONG PERSON with a very similar name. We’re still trying to figure out how this happened, and now she has to do an assessment report for both and figure out just what we’re going to do with Jeremy J #1, since he hasn’t really even been referred to us! Welcome back Kimberly, vacation’s over.

#2 – Home

For some reason, AM decided that he really wanted Five Alive fruit punch at dinner. Dinner was only a short way away, so he put the can of concentrate out on the counter to thaw.

All three of us are hanging around the kitchen waiting for the vegetables to finish roasting, and AM decides that the juice is likely thawed enough to get out of the can. He pulls the little plastic tab and pops the metal top off, but the juice is still pretty frozen and doesn’t want to come out.

AM cleverly decides to hold the lid back on the can and give it a shake to loosen the juice so he can dump it in the jug. Somehow while completing this action (the details of which will be debated in the family for years to come, no doubt) the juice EXPLODES out of the can, landing on just about every single surface in our rather small kitchen, including a dollop on the kiddo’s head, and a good portion in my hair, clothes, and down my neck!

It took one dishcloth, two showers, and three times mopping the floor to (almost) clean up the mess. AM will forever be held responsible for the “Five Alive Attack!” (unless I come up with a better title. Anyone?)

Really? Cuz that would seem to take all the fun out of it.

“I would die to be a 30”




Overheard at work, one of my co-workers, participating in our office’s “Biggest Loser” challenge.



I find this type of statement so disturbing, particularly from social workers. Am I wrong to think we should know better?

Peer Reviews

I just got two requests to do peer-reviews for my co-workers. This will make #8 and #9 that I have done this year. When we do our yearly evaluations, we have to submit the names of two co-workers that we would like to submit an evaluation. If you want to provide useful input, they can be quite time consuming.

I understand the importance of these reviews, but I’m getting a little tired of them. And to be honest, I’m not sure why everyone keeps picking me! I know that I am friendly and personable with my coworkers, but around the office, I tend to stick to myself. I never have quite warmed up to this place, or the idea of working in a setting that is not expressly a shared team model. Also, it’s not really my thing to share a lot of personal information, or gossip. I’ve always been someone who listens from the sidelines.

So why do they pick me? I don’t know. Perhaps I appear to be a neutral party? Maybe they think I’m “nice” so I’ll just say good things? Perhaps they get that I’m thoughtful and introspective, so feel I will give them a worthwhile evaluation. Or maybe it’s just a coincidence.

All I know, is it’s another stack of paperwork to add to the pile.

Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer

Okay, okay, so I know I’ve been a little neglectful of my little blog here lately (I can hear all 4 people who read it collectively nodding their heads) but I have good reason!

1) It’s summer, so I’m outside doing stuff
2) It’s summer, so it’s hot and I have less energy
3) And this is the real kicker – my home laptop crashed and has yet to be suitably replaced.

I haven’t even had time to keep up with reading all the blogs I follow, which is saying a lot because it is usually a highlight of my day.

I promised some way back that I would follow up with a book review of Voluntary Madness, and I will get to it. I also want to get back to talking more about the work at hand, as I’ve been recently distracted by certain international photo-ops and spectacles – although I can’t promise it won’t happen again.

For now, I’m wimping out and posting this list that made the rounds of Facebook recently and was emailed to me by a co-worker. Even if you’ve read it before, it may be good for laugh, and isn’t laughter really the best medicine?

Onward! -->

You know you’re a social worker when…

1) You think $40,000 a year is “really making it”.

2) You don’t really know what it’s like to work with men.

3) You know all the latest lingo for drugs, where to get them, and how much they cost.

4) You’ve started a sentence with “So what I hear you saying is…”

5) You’ve had two or more jobs at one time just to pay the bills.

6) You tell people what you do and they say “that’s so noble”.

7) You have had to explain to people that not all social workers take away kids.

8) You use the words ‘validate’, ‘appropriate’ and ‘intervention’ daily.

9) You spend more than half your day documenting and doing paperwork.

10) You think nothing of discussing child abuse over dinner.

11) People have said to you “I don’t know how you do what you do”.

12) You’ve never been on a business trip or had an expense account.

13) You know a lot of other social workers who have left the profession for another.

14) You’re very familiar with the concept of entitlement.

15) Staying at a job for two years is ‘a long time’.

16) Your phone number is unlisted for good reason.

17) Your professional newsletters always have articles about raising salaries…but you still haven’t seen it.

18) You’re very familiar with the term ‘budget cut’.

19) You can’t imagine working at a bank or crunching numbers all day.

20) You’ve had client who liked you just a little too much.

21) Having lunch is a luxury some days.

22) You’ve been cursed at or threatened…and it doesn’t bother you.

23) Your job orientation has included self defense.

24) You have the best stories at any cocktail party.

25) Your parents don’t know half of the stuff that you’ve dealt with at your job.

26) You know all the excuses client use for a failed drug test by heart.

27) People think it’s a compliment if they mistake you for a psychologist.

28) It’s a common occurrence to walk through metal detectors.

29) You’re thankful that you have a license without having to go to school for umpteen years like a psychologist*

30) You work odd hours and wonder why others can’t also be as flexible, or why we have to be the only ones who work strange hours.

31) Despite the poor reputation of a social worker you job has you interacting with those in higher authority positions (lawyers, doctors, judges, government representatives, superintendants, directors, etc)…and they come looking for you in a panic when they need you…

32) You can make just about anything a client does into a ‘strength’.

33) You laugh at things “normal” people would be shocked by.

34) You constantly struggle with the work/life balance.

35) You find it hard to get babysitters as you don’t trust anyone with your children.

36) You’re exhausted but you keep smiling!!

37) Hearing the worst news stories does not shock you in the least bit.

38) You think nothing of saying the words vagina, penis, or anus in a daily conversation.

39) You assess your date (in your head) while out on a date just to see if they meet criteria for any DSM IV diagnosis.

40) Your mother tells people you’re a psychiatrist or a psychologist. For the umpteenth time, I’m a social worker.

41) Your significant other has learned that when someone greets you in public not to ask “who was that?”

42) You know the suicide crisis phone number, the food shelf and the community shelter phone numbers off the top of your head.

43) Your family/friends/acquaintances/co-workers will approach you with a “hypothetical problem” to help them with and you can’t charge them for your advice.

44) When people ask for your help, they expect you to have all the answers and solution to problems that do not even exist, immediately. We’re social workers, not magicians.

45) You know where to find ‘free’ anything (clothes, food, equipment, transportation) but you are not eligible for any of them yourself.

46) You are considered an “expert” in financial assistance for your low-income clients but you can’t keep your own cheque book balanced.

47) You have a file or a list posted in your office on “Stress Reducing Techniques.”

48) After a long week of solving other people’s problems, you recognize that you haven’t dealt with your own at home.

49) You don’t know what “sick days” are and you call your vacation times “long mental health breaks” or “burnout prevention days”.

50) The clinical staff find the patient/family situation appalling and in urgent need of intervention and in your “social work” opinion, you don’t really think it’s all that bad. You’re pretty sure you’ve seen worse.

51) You love/loathe the idea of role-plays and know that they are not necessarily something kinky.

52) You’ve found yourself in a group situation with other social workers discussing a super deep topic, and someone says that they’re happy they were able to have the conversation with other people who “get it” and everyone immediately agrees.

53) You really do have the best gossip around, but have to make sure to remove any possibly identifying information first.

54) You really know how to enjoy a good bottle of wine!

*I'm assuming this was originated in the USA, as social workers are not 'licenced' where I live.

Quote of the Day

"How can I be a mental health worker when I don't even know how to spell 'psychiatrist' or 'schizophrenia'?!?!

Thank you, unnamed co-worker, for making me laugh.

The Closed-minded Co-worker

I got snappy with a co-worker this morning. We’ve had some donations in the office and as a “joke” he put a set of flower patterned sheets on a male managers desk. When it was figured out who did it, he started loudly proclaiming that it was a joke because “no man should have to sleep on flowered sheets” looking for collaboration from the rest of us. I shot back “where do you get these close-minded ideas?” Another female co-worker laughed and said “okay, I’m not the only one who was thinking that!”

This was a small occurrence, but he says sexist things like this a lot. And it gets on my nerves. A lot.

It’s not that he’s saying anything that would constitute harassment or whatever, but it is annoying. I especially don’t understand this kind of attitude in a social work setting.

It’s not that I can’t take a joke. I do have a sense of humour. I do! It’s the thoughtlessness behind these comments that gets me going “please, just SHUT UP!”

I could lay all kinds of “anti-oppression framework” or gendered analysis on this one, or I could talk about how in this line of work we all have to explore our own privileged and social location etc, etc.

But it's friday, and I don’t want to. Is it too much to ask for people to think before they speak and check their prejudice at the door?