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

1 comment:

  1. yeah the doctor told me that the bed bugs are making a comeback. so are scabies and the whooping cough.

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