Hey everyone -
So I'm a miserable communicator apparanty because I suck at remembering to post. To justify it a little, I have been very busy. A couple of weeks ago, I took the LSATs, so leading up to that was a little scary/time consuming. Then, Aaron visited and it was so much fun! And that was only a week ago, so more recently I've just been trying to get myself organized again before all of the madness that was the LSAT. But yeah I just have been busy - community life is kind of difficult just because we've got a lot of responsibilities and are trying to hang out as much as possible. Luckily for me, I have a great 9 people to do that with, so it's not as much of a burden as the last sentence may have implied. Work is good, I am slowly getting into my role as intake specialist which is good. I also am taking on a couple of other smaller roles to help out my coworkers - for example, I am working with the students who finished the training and are on job search to fill out applications which is fun because it is one-on-one time rather than me speaking to a group! But I do enjoy speaking to big groups of adults too, and my favorite part of the week is surprisingly speaking with TANF recipients (temporary assistance for needy families) about our program. Another part that I am kind of adding to my job by my own initiative is outreach presentations to housing agencies and agencies that serve women in Denver, so I will begin doing that kind of stuff within the next month or so.
I kind of preferred this agency because it primarily serves women, but my supervisor has been making me realize that I also really enjoy adult education as well. I kind of connect my one-on-one job search assistance with my time as an ESL tutor at the Manchester Adult Learning Center, and that experience was one of my favorite throughout college! So I think maybe that is something I should keep in my head...maybe as a lawyer I can educate adults about their rights (immigration law? MALC had an immigration lawyer speak with them and it was really interesting). Maybe connecting Work Options for Women with reintegrative-type of service could be connected with defense and reintegration upon release...who knows really? All I know is that it is something I have been thinking about, and I will pay extra attention while my role develops even more at Work Options for Women.
I will try to post more frequently.
Peace,
Lianne
Monday, October 25, 2010
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Neglectful! Sorry!
Hello!
I have a really good reason why I haven't got to post in a long time! I swear!
So after our first week of work, we had a really fun and somewhat relaxing weekend... Then Monday we had a short day (all the CVVers have short Mondays to make time for our group reflection and discussion, mass, and community dinner). Trying to get into a reflective state of mind after a day of work and a trip home on the bus (which is sort of impossible), I finally feel a little relaxed. However, before reflection and discussion, we heard an announcement made by our director Bill. That announcement was a confirmation that we have bed bugs and we have to bring every article of clothing to the laundromat, clean our rooms like never before, and then possibly sleep in the other house. That put me right back into the frazzled state of mind that I was in a few minutes earlier.
So needless to say, last week was absolutely nuts at home. They are spraying again today and they are going to continue to spray once a month. I have a plastic bag on my mattress that makes a bubble when I lay on it, and makes me sweat through the night. But I haven't got bit yet so that's a really good thing!
Work is going very well. This week I have been picking up more responsibility because one of our case managers is on vacation. I had been shadowing her the past two weeks, so I think I was definitely ready and so far everything has gone well. Monday I did orientation, and yesterday and today I did one on one intakes. The woman I met with yesterday is going to start next Tuesday, so I kind of lucked out that she happened to be a good candidate for our program. I also have been all over the intake phone line, and have got a lot of people (mostly women) signed up for this coming Tuesday's orientation. I even have been in contact with a woman who is so excited about our program that she told all of her friends from the shelter she stays at, and she called me at 6:30 this morning asking me to call these women on her cell phone to get them signed up as well. She's making the recruitment part of my job pretty easy!
As shocking as some of the paperwork I am reading about our students and potential students is, I am even more shocked about what I see while just waiting for the bus in the morning. People are passed out on the sidewalk, getting arrested, soliciting homeless women, etc. That's why I previously said that I need to take a little time to ground my thoughts before reflection and discussion!!
As for fun, this weekend was packed which was great. One of my roommates' worksite sponsored a road race to benefit homelessness, so I volunteered as a marshall for that which was really fun. Then after that, I helped out at a "green" festival that one of my other roommates got us into, which was so cool! There was live music on a solar powered stage, all vendors representing green businesses in Denver, free food, beer, and champagne. It was a ton of fun and I ended up being there for about 10 hours...! Then on Sunday, I met up with my long lost friends Ellen and Matt (from Ireland!) and we got a few beers and then went to the Rockies game!!! That was an absolute blast - the stadium is beautiful and I got to see Manny be an absolute jerk, which ended up being pretty important because two days later he's playing at the White Sox!
That's mostly it for right now...I'll try to update more often. Last week was hard for me to get internet access so I just didn't go to the cafe.
Love,
Lianne
I have a really good reason why I haven't got to post in a long time! I swear!
So after our first week of work, we had a really fun and somewhat relaxing weekend... Then Monday we had a short day (all the CVVers have short Mondays to make time for our group reflection and discussion, mass, and community dinner). Trying to get into a reflective state of mind after a day of work and a trip home on the bus (which is sort of impossible), I finally feel a little relaxed. However, before reflection and discussion, we heard an announcement made by our director Bill. That announcement was a confirmation that we have bed bugs and we have to bring every article of clothing to the laundromat, clean our rooms like never before, and then possibly sleep in the other house. That put me right back into the frazzled state of mind that I was in a few minutes earlier.
So needless to say, last week was absolutely nuts at home. They are spraying again today and they are going to continue to spray once a month. I have a plastic bag on my mattress that makes a bubble when I lay on it, and makes me sweat through the night. But I haven't got bit yet so that's a really good thing!
Work is going very well. This week I have been picking up more responsibility because one of our case managers is on vacation. I had been shadowing her the past two weeks, so I think I was definitely ready and so far everything has gone well. Monday I did orientation, and yesterday and today I did one on one intakes. The woman I met with yesterday is going to start next Tuesday, so I kind of lucked out that she happened to be a good candidate for our program. I also have been all over the intake phone line, and have got a lot of people (mostly women) signed up for this coming Tuesday's orientation. I even have been in contact with a woman who is so excited about our program that she told all of her friends from the shelter she stays at, and she called me at 6:30 this morning asking me to call these women on her cell phone to get them signed up as well. She's making the recruitment part of my job pretty easy!
As shocking as some of the paperwork I am reading about our students and potential students is, I am even more shocked about what I see while just waiting for the bus in the morning. People are passed out on the sidewalk, getting arrested, soliciting homeless women, etc. That's why I previously said that I need to take a little time to ground my thoughts before reflection and discussion!!
As for fun, this weekend was packed which was great. One of my roommates' worksite sponsored a road race to benefit homelessness, so I volunteered as a marshall for that which was really fun. Then after that, I helped out at a "green" festival that one of my other roommates got us into, which was so cool! There was live music on a solar powered stage, all vendors representing green businesses in Denver, free food, beer, and champagne. It was a ton of fun and I ended up being there for about 10 hours...! Then on Sunday, I met up with my long lost friends Ellen and Matt (from Ireland!) and we got a few beers and then went to the Rockies game!!! That was an absolute blast - the stadium is beautiful and I got to see Manny be an absolute jerk, which ended up being pretty important because two days later he's playing at the White Sox!
That's mostly it for right now...I'll try to update more often. Last week was hard for me to get internet access so I just didn't go to the cafe.
Love,
Lianne
Monday, August 16, 2010
some pics, and a first day of work overview
This is one of my favorite pictures of the summer from the 4th of July...that was such an awesome weekend and I've been thinking of it so I wanted to post it. I miss the Cape and being in New England with everyone I care about!
This pic is during our trip to the mountains...Erin is one of my housemates and also from Massachusetts!
The wildflowers were sooo pretty...we couldn't pick them so I just took a picture.
This just shows the landscape...so very pretty. I am so lucky I got to go out there.
This pic is during our trip to the mountains...Erin is one of my housemates and also from Massachusetts!
The wildflowers were sooo pretty...we couldn't pick them so I just took a picture.
This just shows the landscape...so very pretty. I am so lucky I got to go out there.
Anyway, today was my first day of work...It was a great day at work, and I think I am going to really like it. The Department of Human Services is absolutely crazy, but that was expected. The most challenging part of my day was sadly the transportation situation...I had to take the bus and it wasn't difficult or anything..I know my way around Denver easy enough to know where to go (sweet grid system). I just felt really out of place and people could tell...I got bombarded with questions and I became a little overwhelmed. It will just take some getting used to which is fine. Solidarity, babyyy.
Work will be really cool. I have a few cool jobs that I will overtake in maybe a week or two, and then at mid-year I will be a case manager. I think I will have a decent amount of responsibility which will be great and I really like the organization. I think I already posted this but in case I haven't, the website is workoptions.org.
Thanks for reading and I will talk to you guys soon.
Peace and Love,
Lianne
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Orientation Week!
Hello,
I am writing after my first week here in Denver! I arrived last Saturday and jumped into my orientation. I moved into my house and we pretty much went full-time with different discussions and reflections, team-building activities, and a trip to Shrine Pass in the mountains. Our neighborhood is pretty interesting...it is pretty poor but there has been some recent gentrification in the area and it has now a variety of socioeconomic statuses. The house I am in used to be an office building for the archdiocese, so it is a really wierd building to live in. 10 of us are living in it, and we all have our own rooms, there's a good kitchen/dining area, a couple of living areas, a cool tv room, and some other stuff.
The mountains were absoultely beautiful...I will try to post pictures at some point this week. There were gorgeous wildflowers everywhere, and the scenery was really cool - there were mountains all around us and really cool red stone when we were driving in...the pictures will be better than me describing it. We also did a team challenge course with some high and low ropes courses. That was really fun and I felt really good after conquering my fear of heights!
Work starts Monday, but this past Friday I got to have a short orientation there. I didn't get to meet my supervisor, but I met my other co-workers, the executive director, a member of the development staff, a couple of the chefs, and one of the students. The tour of the building was helpful because I will be in the Denver Human Services Department - a huge building with a ton going on. I haven't got my exact job description yet, but I think I will have quite a bit of responsibility which I am really happy about.
Otherwise, I've just been hanging out...everyone is really nice in the program so they have been very fun and I am glad to have such cool people around me this year. I will write again maybe mid-week for a work update!
Peace,
Lianne
I am writing after my first week here in Denver! I arrived last Saturday and jumped into my orientation. I moved into my house and we pretty much went full-time with different discussions and reflections, team-building activities, and a trip to Shrine Pass in the mountains. Our neighborhood is pretty interesting...it is pretty poor but there has been some recent gentrification in the area and it has now a variety of socioeconomic statuses. The house I am in used to be an office building for the archdiocese, so it is a really wierd building to live in. 10 of us are living in it, and we all have our own rooms, there's a good kitchen/dining area, a couple of living areas, a cool tv room, and some other stuff.
The mountains were absoultely beautiful...I will try to post pictures at some point this week. There were gorgeous wildflowers everywhere, and the scenery was really cool - there were mountains all around us and really cool red stone when we were driving in...the pictures will be better than me describing it. We also did a team challenge course with some high and low ropes courses. That was really fun and I felt really good after conquering my fear of heights!
Work starts Monday, but this past Friday I got to have a short orientation there. I didn't get to meet my supervisor, but I met my other co-workers, the executive director, a member of the development staff, a couple of the chefs, and one of the students. The tour of the building was helpful because I will be in the Denver Human Services Department - a huge building with a ton going on. I haven't got my exact job description yet, but I think I will have quite a bit of responsibility which I am really happy about.
Otherwise, I've just been hanging out...everyone is really nice in the program so they have been very fun and I am glad to have such cool people around me this year. I will write again maybe mid-week for a work update!
Peace,
Lianne
Friday, July 9, 2010
First Post
Hello everyone,
I have decided that since I have a big year ahead of me, I really should try hard to document it to both look back on and also help keep in touch with people from home. I am both excited and nervous for my upcoming adventure, but I am sure it will be great. So there's obviously nothing to report now because I haven't left yet, but this will be updated hopefully weekly while I am away. I will also include pictures if I think anything is interesting enough to pair with a visual aid.
Peace,
Lianne
I have decided that since I have a big year ahead of me, I really should try hard to document it to both look back on and also help keep in touch with people from home. I am both excited and nervous for my upcoming adventure, but I am sure it will be great. So there's obviously nothing to report now because I haven't left yet, but this will be updated hopefully weekly while I am away. I will also include pictures if I think anything is interesting enough to pair with a visual aid.
Peace,
Lianne
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