While the Iron is Hot
Getting a June post in under the wire.
Hey, y’all, I have been busy, and I’m about to get busier.
June has just flown by.
I feel like I just got used to it being June about a week ago. And here we are on the last day. I hope that everyone that celebrates had a Happy Pride Month. I want to have a quick check-in before I go back to doing my weekly chores/care tasks/activities of living. Jennifer was gone for a little over two weeks and while my eating became very feral (lots of small meals* eaten over a trashcan like I was still a line cook who had to cram food and a cigarette into a ten-minute break); I did keep the kitties and plants in good health. I even harvested a couple of baby jalapeños. I also stayed on top of housecleaning for the most part, and when Jennifer returned the apartment was no worse than when she left. I am pretty pleased with this result.
I write best when I convince myself that I am playing hooky from some other pressing task, so I am striking while the iron is hot.
*Meals might be a bowl of cereal at 8:00 p.m., leftover chili dog makings, or pinches, hunks, and slices of whatever the cheese drawer had to offer.
My internship continues to be motivating and fulfilling. The three days a week that I am at Above and Beyond Family Recovery Center remind me that I made a good choice working toward becoming a Certified Recovery Support Specialist (CRSS) last August. I can truly say, imposter syndrome be damned that I will make a great CRSS one day—hopefully very soon. I need to figure out how far I am away from finishing my required 300 hours of internship. I kept terrible records at my last internship and I have no way to find out how many hours I accrued there that does not require an awkward series of emails and perhaps even a [gulp] phone call, but I think that I am probably about halfway through my hours, which means that I should be finished in ten weeks or so. Then I can sit my exam, and provided that goes well get my certification within the next few months. I can almost see the finish line. I am still learning so much every day at Above and Beyond and last week I led a self-help group for the first time. My mentor said that I did a good job and he is not one to give empty praise. I was a little nervous, but I think that I kept the discussion moving and mostly on-topic, so I am calling it good. The people that I get to work with as colleagues and clients remain inspiring. It’s just a joyful place to be—even on challenging days. And even the challenging days are pretty exhilarating. In case it is not obvious, I love it there.
At my day job things had been in upheaval last time I posted. June saw even more upheaval with longtime residents leaving and new residents coming in. Of the original eight members of the house who lived there when I started last May, only three remain. Right now we have six residents, but another two are supposed to be moving into the house in July. It has been interesting and sometimes challenging to build rapport with the new members of the house, but they are all cool people who are doing their best. And I have to remember that I am a mostly cool person who is also doing his best. That said, I miss some of the former house members quite a bit. I always tried to keep professional boundaries, but some people are just fun to work with. They make coming to work enjoyable. One of those clients just moved out and the vibe of the house is just not the same. It will develop new vibes; until then, some of the clients are a bit sad and missing their friends. We are all awaiting these new vibes to show themselves.
At least the kitchen renovation is complete. Half-assed, but complete. The members are no longer having to subsist on sandwiches, cold cereal, and microwavable foods. And I can cook for them on Saturdays again, which is great because feeding these folks brings me a lot of job satisfaction. On the whole, I am enjoying my work. My commute is still pretty grim, but once I get there I have mostly good days. This job is not a career, but the experience that I get from it will help me in my work as a CRSS—there is a lot of overlap between being a Direct Support Professional (DSP) and a CRSS. The chief difference is that my own compelling story of recovery is not part of my work as a DSP. Between my job and my internship, I get to support people with serious mental health diagnoses, substance use disorders, and those with co-occurring disorders. All of this will only serve to help me in my career. Before I go to a new subject, I have some great news to tell y’all. Our union negotiated a fifteen percent raise with management. Considering that last year’s raise was something like three percent, we are all thrilled. Maybe next year we can get better healthcare plans to choose from.
My birthday is coming up on July 11. I had a great birthday party last year to celebrate my fiftieth that included my sisters coming up here from Texas. Fifty-one seems kind of anticlimactic, so I’m not even sure that I want to have a birthday party. That said, I would love to hang out with friends at the park and maybe play some kubb. What is kubb, you ask? It’s a Swedish yard game where you try to knock over the opposing team’s wooden blocks (kubb) with batons before they knock over yours. It’s more involved than that, but I won’t try to explain it here. Here is the Wikipedia article on the game, if you are interested in learning more: Kubb. I already own two kubb sets so I just need to find a place to play. Chicago is a city of great parks and beaches, so I’m sure that I can think of somewhere. When I worked at Half Price Books, I used to play in tournaments (my team won second place once) and even a little league that we set up, but I haven’t played since my birthday in 2018. I have about a day to decide if I want to have a little kubb party or not.
In other news, I got my birthday present from Jennifer already. I will be taking a guitar class at Old Town School of Folk Music beginning tomorrow night. I am very excited to be learning guitar in a classroom environment—something that I have never done before.
I’ve taken private lessons, but I think that the group setting will be inspiring and less pressure and definitely less cost. And hopefully more fun. Just wait until I have some songs under my belt and I become an even more insufferable Jeremy than I already am. I have tarried too long from my housework, so I will bid you adieu until the next post.
Thank you, as always, for reading.
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