Tag Archives: Education

Weekly Check-In

Posted on by Gertie

Good Evening, World!!! It’s that time of week again where I do my weekly check-in. Let’s discuss how work is going. My job is going quite well, and I love my job. Despite being informed that I am doing a good job at work I worry about not passing my probationary period due to my supervisor being out on leave to take care of his mom, I’ve been informed to not worry about as I am “doing a good job and going above and beyond the call of duty.”

Even though I have been told this, it still worries me but at least I am doing what I am supposed be doing. In fact, I am doing some trainings to help the people I help. The plus thing it is counting continuing education credits once the peer licensure changes. I am really enjoying the two trainings/continuing education courses I am taking. I am taking Personal Medicine Coaching that Pat Deegan created which is awesome as well as taking the Hearing Voices Facilitator training through the Hearing Voices Network USA. I really do enjoy the fact it is all peer focused, and the trainings are being facilitated by people who have lived experience and if for some reason I don’t pass my probationary period at work, I at least have more to add to my resume. Hell, even if I pass it still looks good on the resume. A good friend of mine as well as current colleague both tell me that I am experiencing something called imposter syndrome. I’m not sure if I am experiencing imposter syndrome or not, many people no matter their job title experience it.

I may not know if I have imposter syndrome regarding my job, my depression and PTSD symptoms have been acting up. I have a theory or two on why my symptoms are acting up, but I do know what is helping me cope with my symptoms. Going to work is helping just like volunteering at PAWS Cat City and with Alley Cat Project. Volunteering and working help a great deal but my cat, Billie is extremely helpful with coping. I am so very glad that I have my cat, Billie in my life to help me through good and bad moments as well as everything in between.

I do not have anything else to discuss or share or to write about in this particular blog post. I do want to thank you the reader for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated from my end of things that you the reader, read my blog. If it was not for you the reader, reading my blog I would not be continuing to write my blog. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog. Peace Out, World!!!

Just A Boring Monday Morning

Posted on by Gertie

Good Morning, World!!! It is still Monday morning here in Seattle. I have been a little bored today, so I decided to keep myself busy. I have been keeping myself busing by doing continuing education courses online for being a peer support specialist. I am learning something which is a good thing. I also have been doing math. Yes, I did say math. I am not a big fan of math but at least I am learning and educating myself and increasing my math skills. As I am doing math in a math book and continuing education courses online, my cat, Billie has been sleeping in my lap snoring.

I do not have anything else to discuss or share or to write about in this particular blog post. I do want to thank you the reader for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated from my end of things that you the reader, read my blog. If it was not for you the reader, reading my blog I would not be continuing to write my blog. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog. Peace Out, World!!!

Another Morning of Waking Too Up Early

Posted on by Gertie

Good Morning, World!!! It is three thirty-three in the morning here in Seattle. Thankfully, I was able to sleep the last three and half hours and am thrilled about that. Yes, I wish I could have gotten more sleep, but I am grateful for what sleep I did get. Now onto figuring out what I am going to do to pass the time.

I am most likely going to do a combination of math, continuing education for being a peer and recovery related workbooks. Yes, you read right, I plan on doing math. Yes, I know that is weird, but it is a subject that I suck at. As far as continuing education courses for my peer certification, I am learning some new things and being reminded of other things. The workbooks I am working is to help me with my recovery and I am very appreciative of them. As I do all this my cat, Billie will likely be in my lap sleeping. I love my cat, Billie so very much and I am so very grateful that he is a lap kitty.

I do not have anything else to discuss or share or to write about in this particular blog post. I do want to thank you the reader for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated from my end of things that you the reader, read my blog. If it was not for you the reader, reading my blog I would not be continuing to write my blog. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog. Peace Out, World!!!

Middle of the Night Ramblings

Posted on by Gertie

Good Morning, World!!! It is 12:08 in the morning here in Seattle. I have not been to sleep yet. Part of it is due to insomnia while the other part is due to anxiety of having a concussion and afraid to go to sleep. Since I am wide awake due to anxiety of falling asleep with a hint of insomnia, I have been keeping myself busy. I have been busy doing math. Yes, I said math. I have also been busy doing artwork. The form of artwork that I have been doing is color. While I have colored and done math, my cat, Billie has been cuddling in my lap. I love the fact that I have cat who is a total cuddle bug and lap kitty.

I do not have anything else to discuss or share or to write about in this particular blog post. I do want to thank you the reader for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated from my end of things that you the reader, read my blog. If it was not for you the reader, reading my blog I would not be continuing to write my blog. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog. Peace Out, World!!!

Weekly Plans

Posted on by Gertie

Sunday

  • Morning walk
  • Mindfulness meditation through the Calm App
  • Volunteer at PAWS Cat City
  • Work on recovery related workbooks
  • Art (coloring and/or diamond art/painting)
  • Read

Monday

  • Morning walk
  • Mindfulness meditation through the Calm App
  • Appointment at the Social Security office
  • Work on a recovery related workbooks
  • Work on a continuing education course
  • Art (coloring and/or diamond art/painting)
  • Read

Tuesday

  • Morning walk
  • Mindfulness meditation through the Calm App
  • Work on a continuing education course
  • Work on recovery related workbooks
  • Job interview
  • Art (coloring and/or diamond art/painting)
  • Read

Wednesday

  • Morning walk
  • Mindfulness meditation through the Calm Walk
  • Work on a continuing education course
  • Work on recovery related workbooks
  • Clean apartment
  • Art (coloring and/or diamond art/painting)
  • Read

Thursday

  • Morning walk
  • Mindfulness meditation through the Calm Work
  • Volunteer with Alley Cat Project
  • Work on continuing education course
  • Work on recovery related workbooks
  • Art (coloring and/or diamond art/painting)
  • Read

Friday

  • Morning walk
  • Mindfulness meditation through the Calm App
  • Volunteer with Alley Cat Project
  • Work on a continuing education course
  • Work on a recovery related workbook
  • Attend movies with friends
  • Art (coloring and/or diamond art/painting)
  • Read

Saturday

  • Morning walk
  • Mindfulness meditation practice through the Calm App
  • Volunteer with Alley Cat Project
  • U-District farmer’s market
  • Movies with friends
  • Work on recovery related workbooks
  • Art (coloring and/or diamond art/painting)
  • Read

Not So Exciting Friday Plans

Posted on by Gertie

Good Morning, World!!! It is almost six thirty in the morning here in Seattle. Sadly, I did not sleep very well last night. I wish I wasn’t struggling so much with sleep. Sleep is essential for good health, both physical and mental health which is why I wish I could sleep especially since I am not feeling well. I am sadly dealing with a stupid cold.

Since I am not feeling very well today, I am going to take it easy. I am not sure what exactly what I will do today but I know cuddling with my cat, Billie will be one of thing that I will most definitely do today. Hell, cuddling with my cat, Billie is something I do on the daily basis, and I am so grateful that Billie is such cuddle bug.

Speaking of cats, I will be doing a shift with Alley Cat Project later this morning. I am on the incoming calls team. The thing the incoming call team does is return phone calls to people who have called, emailed or an online submission. Most of the time the calls returned are regarding stray and feral cats in need of some kind of help and the incoming calls team then puts the person in touch with the appropriate person to help.

Another thing I plan on doing today is continuing to do continuing education course regarding my chosen career path of being a peer support specialist. I hope the course I start today is something that I can use in a job or at least in my personal life. I am not sure what course I will start today but I will figure that out later.

Besides working on continuing education courses, I plan on working on a workbook or two that is related to improving myself and/or recovery related to the mental health challenges I deal with. Self-improvement is key to a person’s recovery no matter the type of recovery a person is in. I enjoy working on my self-improvement and recovery by working on recovery related workbooks as I find them quite helpful especially in between sessions with my therapist.

Today is not going to be all work and no play as everyone needs something fun or enjoyable to do. One of the enjoyable things I plan on doing at some point today is some form art. I am not quite sure what type of artwork that I will do but it will either be color or diamond art/painting or maybe both but of course not at the same time.

I do not have anything else to discuss or write about in this particular blog post. I do want to thank you the reader for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated from my end of things that you the reader, read my blog. If it was not for you the reader, reading my blog, I would not be continuing to write my blog. Again, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog. Peace Out, World!!!

A Day of Learning

Posted on by Gertie

Good Afternoon, World!!! It is a few minutes after three o’clock in the afternoon here in Seattle. I haven’t really done very much of anything due to not feeling well which means I have not left my apartment. I haven’t left my apartment as I don’t want to give other people in my apartment building or anybody else my cold. On a plus note at least my take home Covid test are all coming back negative which makes me so freaking happy.

Since I haven’t really left my apartment today due to not feeling well, I have been trying to stay productive with various educational opportunities and some personal growth opportunities as well as some training opportunities. I really enjoy being able to have learning and training opportunities as I enjoy being able to learn. As personal growth opportunities go, it can be quite challenging at times but well worth it in the long run.

Sadly, the training I was hoping to start and finish today, I could not do, due to a technical glitch that is not on my end. The training I was hoping to accomplish today is one for PAWS Cat City. It will allow me to learn more about cat behavior as well as being able to work with some cats who may be bit more socialization for various reasons. It is my hope that by the end of next year (2026) I can complete the various levels of training to be able to work with some of the sassier cats. On that note I am not sure if I have to wait a certain amount of time to take the next “level” of training and I am okay if I have to wait so I can get more hands-on experience after doing the online training.

Speaking of training, I did a continuing education course regarding my career path of being a peer specialist. I am not too sure about the course that I have been doing but I am learning something. Some of it is applicable to being a peer specialist and sadly I feel like the particular course I am taking is missing some vital information. I am hoping that when I finish the course that the vital information is discussed.

As far as the personal growth opportunity goes, I am doing a workbook for queer people who identify as trans or nonbinary, but I do know queer folks who do not identify as trans or nonbinary. The workbook’s focus is to build resiliency in your identity. Building resiliency can also be a part of other areas of life. The section I did today was quite challenging for me and I know it will ultimately help with accepting myself as well help me with my mental health recovery. I am grateful I have workbooks to do to help me improve myself.

I do not have anything else to discuss or write about in the particular blog post. I do want to thank you the reader for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated on my end that you the reader, read my blog. If it was not for you the reader, reading my blog, I would not be continuing to write my blog. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog. Peace Out, World!!!

Thinking About Self Improvement & Recovery

Posted on by Gertie

Good Morning, World!!! It is a few minutes after four o’clock in the morning here in Seattle. I am not sure why I am up so early, but I am and sadly I am not feeling very well. It appears to me that I have a cold as I did a home Covid test last night as well as this morning and both tests came negative. I will be taking another take home Covid test this evening as I want to make sure that I don’t have Covid and if I do then I will self-isolate to make sure I don’t give it to anyone else. I am wearing a mask in public because I don’t even want to give this cold to anyone.

Even though I am not feeling well, I am still planning on doing what I want to accomplish today or at least start what I want to accomplish. There are a couple of continuing education course I want to take through the State of Washington that is for already certified peer support specialist. I am wanting to do this just to learn more as well as needing to take them for future trainings as peer. Plus, I love learning especially when it comes to my career of choice as a peer specialist.

Speaking of my chosen career choice, I have been applying for jobs as a peer support specialist. In fact, I have two job interviews next week for two different teams at the same agency. One is parttime and is not temporary job while the other if fulltime but temporary that last 18 months. In all honesty, I really hope I get the parttime job for various reasons. One of which I think I could succeed in the particular job.

Since I brought up wanting to succeed in a future workplace, I have been setting some goals for my recovery. One of those goals is to continue to work my way through some recovery related workbooks. I enjoy doing workbooks as a form of self-improvement as well as to help me with my recovery especially in between sessions with my therapist. Plus, completing recovery related workbooks allows me to help clients with improving themselves and I can inform them on how the workbook helped me with my own recovery.

Another way that I am focusing on self-improvement, and recovery is by watching TED Talks videos. There are so many TED Talks that I can learn from and not just with self-improvement, but other topics as well including how to deal with grief as I recently lost both of my parents. Hell, there is even a series for cat people like me.

Speaking of cats, I got approved to take the next level of cat behavior training for PAWS Cat City. It is online and I am looking forward to it. I can do it at my own pace, which is a good thing, but my plan is to do it in one sitting later today. I really enjoy working with cats or in this case volunteering with cats and not just with PAWS Cat City but Alley Cat Project (ACP) as well. Even though my volunteer position with Alley Cat Project (ACP) doesn’t have me directly working with cats, I am still helping cats. On that note I am really excited about taking the next level of cat behavior training for PAWS Cat City especially since I do have direct contact with cats at PAWS Cat City.

I do not have anything else to discuss or write about in this particular blog post. I do want to thank you the reader for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated from my end of things that you the reader, read my blog. If it was not for you the reader, reading my blog, I would not be continuing to write my blog. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog. Peace Out, World!!!

Daily Prompt; What Would You Do if You Won the Lottery?

Posted on by Gertie
Bloganuary writing prompt
What would you do if you won the lottery?
View all responses

The first thing I would do if I won the lottery is pay off my debts as being in debt sucks sh!t. I have both medical and credit card debt and it would be nice to not to worry about owing money.

After paying off debt I would love to buy me a new home. I would love to own a house however I would be happy owning a condo. Owning my own home would be amazing for me as I don’t ever see myself owning my own home unless a miracle like winning the lottery.

Another thing I would like to do is get a college education. I would love to get my four year degree in Applied Behavioral Science at Seattle Central College which is a two year college. Ultimately this would be a cheaper route and the route I would love to do. I would also like to get my Master’s of Social Work (MSW) if that is in the budget to do after winning the lottery. If I have the chance to ever get my MSW I would love to get it from the University of Washington.

One of the other things I would love to do if I ever won the lottery is get my passport to travel. I would love to travel to Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and Germany. I would also like to travel within the United States via train to various cities and towns.

The other thing I would really love to do is increase the amount of money I donate to a local animal shelter that adopts out dogs and cats as well as some rehabilitation for wildlife. Any organization that does rehabilitation for wild animals as well as adopts out cats and dogs is an organization worth giving money to.

Daily Prompt; What Colleges have you attended?

Posted on by Gertie
Bloganuary writing prompt
What colleges have you attended?
View all responses

I sadly have not had the luxury of being able to attend college for various reasons. One of those reasons which is the main reason is money and the lack there of due to living in poverty most of my life. I am aware that there are programs there such as government grants as well as various scholarships however you have to qualify for such things.

Money might be the major reason why I have not had the luxury to attend college but my various disabilities have gotten in the way. Or maybe I should say I let my disabilities get in the way and I was taught at a young age to never allow my disabilities get in the way of my education as I can easily figure out what accommodations I need to help me with education.