Tag Archives: Friends

Another Brief Check In

Posted on by Gertie

Good Evening, World!!! I had a nice time at a Yule celebration with some friends. We started out our celebration by going to Red Robin to eat. We then went to a friends house where we exchanged gifts and played some games. I love Yule celebrations because it is a celebration where I am not judged like I am at Christmas celebrations.

Before attending the Yule celebration with friends my therapist called me to check in with me to make sure I have a good self care plan in place for the next four days. He will be out of the office on Christmas Eve and well the office is closed on Christmas. I informed him of what my self care plan was he thought it was a “great plan.” I am beyond grateful that I have a therapist that cares about me and check up on me when needed.

As many of you know today is the first day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere which means it is the shortest day of the year. As much as I dislike the shorter days at least I know starting tomorrow (Saturday the 22nd) the days will slowly start getting longer.

I don’t have much to say. I just want to thank you for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated especially this time of year. I hope to blog some time tomorrow. Again, thank you for reading my blog. Have a great evening everyone. Happy Solstice and Yule. Peace Out, World!!!

Just Check In Post

Posted on by Gertie

Good Morning, World!!! As many of you know is that today is the first day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere. This means it is the shortest day of the year which is never a good thing for me when it comes to the symptoms of my mental health challenges especially the depression. Despite it being a not so good day for the symptoms of my mental health challenges, I have created ways to make it a good day.

First and fore most, I am looking forward to spending the first day of Yule with my friends this evening. I love spending time with friends anytime of the year especially when it comes to celebrating them or their beliefs. I do have to mention that I am having anxiety over this get together and I am unsure why. I have done this get together with these friends for several years now. Granted, I may have anxiety over this get together for some unknown reason but I am really looking forward to spending the first day of Yule with my friends.

It appears that life is throwing me a wrench at the moment with increased anxiety, depression and PTSD symptoms. Symptoms that come when it is the most inconvenient of times but then again there is no convenient time for symptoms to surface. I did email my therapist about the increase of symptoms and that I am not in need of a check in at the moment. I emailed him just to make him aware of what was going on so if I need a check in, he is not surprised.

Before I end this post, I want to remind you my reader about the ads on my blog. I have ads on my blog to earn extra money. The only way I make the money is if you my reader click on to the ads. I am hoping that you my reader can click on the ads so I can earn a few extra cents to dollars. I am hoping that enough people click on the ads so I can get paid the money. The only way they pay out the money is if you reach one hundred dollars and if you don’t reach out one hundred dollars the money just sits there until you collect enough money that reaches one hundred dollars. I hope that you all can do me this favor. I need about twenty dollars to reach one hundred dollars to collect it. So I beg you to click on the ads so I can reach the one hundred dollars.

Thank you for reading my blog and I apologize for begging you to click on the ads. Once I reach one hundred dollars is the moments I turn off the ads on my blog. Again thank you for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated. I hope everyone has a great Friday and awesome Winter Solstice. Blessed Yule to everyone who celebrates Yule. I hope everyone also has an awesome weekend. Peace Out, World!!!

Blessed Solstice

Posted on by Gertie

Good Morning, World!!! I still have not slept and am a little annoyed with the fact that I did not sleep a wink last night. Despite not being able to sleep I am really grateful for what I have. I am grateful for the celebration I will be doing this evening with friends.

I celebrate Yule or Winter Solstice with my Pagan friends. Yule last from December 21st to January 1st and we usually get together on the first of Yule which is December 21st to celebrate with each other. That way we can celebrate Yule and other holidays that may be at the same time Yule with family. Other such holidays include Christmas, Kwanza and sometimes Hanukkah. My friends and I celebrate Yule by eating dinner together as well exchange gifts. It is a great time had by all. I am glad that I do this every year with my Pagan friends even though I am not Pagan. I attempt to celebrate everyone’s holiday and be as diverse as possible. I even celebrate Kwanza with my friends who are people of color even though I am a not a person of color. My friends of color who celebrate Kwanza always ask me to attend their celebrations and I accept a good portion of time. I guess what I am saying is that I celebrate everyone this time of year and all year long.

As I end this post I hope to post later on today. I hope everyone has a great Yule as well as great Friday. Blessed Solstice everyone. Peace Out, World!!!

Nothing But Random Sh*t, Once Again

Posted on by Gertie

Good Evening, World!!! Overall, today has been a good day despite some challenging moments. Today, I went to the mental health agency I am a client of as their day treatment was having a holiday lunch. I helped serve lunch which always makes me feel great help other out. Anyway some of the clinicians from the agency even ate with including my own therapist. He said he wouldn’t have come if I didn’t invite him even though the day treatment staff invited all the staff to join. Him saying this made me feel good about myself and that he cares about his clients as will do what he is able to do to help with his clients recovery.

It was nice to see some old faces in day treatment today. Seeing old friends is always a good thing. It was great to catch up with others especially people I haven’t seen a year or two if not longer. The one thing I did not like about today was the bullying that was going on. I am unable to comprehend why people bully others. I did stick up for those who were being bullied and the bully told on me and thankfully other stuck up for me and the bully was asked to leave for the day.

The weather in Seattle today was shitty. There was high winds today on top of the yucky rain. In fact I didn’t have power when I got home from the day treatment holiday lunch. I finally got it back on about an hour ago and my apartment is freezing as I have electric heating so the heaters are on full blast at the moment. I just hope the wind dies down soon. I don’t like yucky weather like today.

I don’t have much else to say. I will post tomorrow or at least that is my plan. Thank you for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated. Have a wonderful rest of your Thursday evening. Peace Out, World!!!

It’s Starting To Feel A Lot Like Christmas In The Northwest

Posted on by Gertie

Good Evening, World!!!! I am officially finished with all my Christmas shopping which makes me thrilled. I am also half way done wrapping the gifts that I am giving to friends and family for Christmas which is a huge accomplishment for me as last year and the year before, I didn’t even start shopping for my gifts for people till December 23rd. So I am very proud of myself that all my gifts are bought and half of them are already wrapped.

It is starting to feel a lot like Christmas in the Northwest. Anyone who has ever spent the holidays in the Pacific Northwest knows all too well on how special it is here. That is why I love Christmas in Seattle. Granted I do miss Christmas in Southern California from time to time but there is nothing like Christmas in the Northwest.

Despite my grandma no longer here with us this holiday season, I am feeling blessed at the moment. I was able to keep a promise that I made her. The promise was to be the one to create the stockings for everyone and I accomplished that today. I also accomplished making a stocking for one of my friends who has no family as well as a friend of my grandma’s. My grandma and her friend had been friends since they were ten years old. So I mailed the stocking to her today as well as the painting I made her.

I don’t have much else to say except that today was overall a great day. In fact it was better than a great day. It was almost an awesome day. I want to thank you for reading my blog as it is greatly appreciated from my end of things. I hope everyone has a great rest of their evening. Peace Out, World!!!

Still Fighting Off Fucking Depression

Posted on by Gertie

Good Afternoon, again, World!!! I am still fighting off fucking depression however it is slowing going away with the things I have done so far. I hung out with a friend. We went to Red Robin and had a late lunch, early dinner. We then walked around the mall and ended up getting pictures with Santa Claus. Getting a picture together with Santa was fun.

Even though the holidays bring more depression my way, I am glad I am coming up with new ways to fight off the depression and to start new traditions. My friend and I are going to do the Santa picture every year from now on.

I am now at my volunteer job waiting for five o’clock to come around as that is when my shift start. I only have about fifteen more minutes till my shift starts which is okay with me. I love my volunteer job. I have been at this volunteer job for four years now. It has helped me a great deal with my life and mental health.

Granted my depression is still acting up at the moment but I am glad I have decided to not isolate. Isolation is a persons worst enemy when they have depression. Fighting isolation and depression sucks shit but I am currently doing it at the moment.

I am just realizing this is my third post today. I have not posted multiple times in a day in a very long time. I am grateful that I am utilizing this great coping skill for me. I hope that me blogging helps you my reader.

I do not have much else to say. I hope everyone has an awesome Saturday afternoon and evening. Thank you so very much for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated from my end of this. Have a great evening. Peace Out, World!!!

Fighting Off Depression & Feeling Horrible About Lying

Posted on by Gertie

Good Afternoon, World!!! I was asked if I could work tomorrow night and I said no due to having the flu. Yes, I know that was a lie but, I haven’t been feeling all that well and feel like I am coming down with a cold. In all honesty I don’t feel like working for the individual that wants me to work for them tomorrow because it always appears that I am working for that particular person. So, I told this person a lied saying I have the flu even though I don’t.

I really feel bad for lying to this individual about having the flu but since I feel like I am coming down with the cold and I see my doctor on Tuesday, I can get a doctors not as a precaution. I know lying is bad and it make me feel horrible about myself and it is something I rarely do. I just don’t want to work for this person as they always seem to be the one who needs someone to work for them.

On the plus side this whole ordeal is making me realize even more than usual that this job is not the best fit for me due to the fact that it is an on call position for a graveyard shift. If I had a more regular shift even for a graveyard shift I think I could do the job but since it is an on call position it is difficult for me due to sleep issues that I already have.

Because of this realization I am working on my resume and cover letter to apply to other jobs. Jobs that I will be interested in even if they are not Peer Specialist positions. Most anything with a study schedule in a field that is in the social service field I am cool with.

Even though I am working on job stuff, I have come to realize that my depression has increased a little bit today. Enough to where I don’t want to go to my volunteer job. Even though my depression is acting up I will be going to my volunteer job this evening. Getting out and doing something for others is always helpful for me even if it doesn’t feel like it at the moment.

I might be fighting off depression but at least I am attempting to not isolate by spending time with a friend before I go to my volunteer job as well as going to my volunteer job. My friend and I are going to go have a late lunch early dinner at our favorite restaurant, Red Robin. I love Red Robin. Eating at Red Robin with friends is always a good time and helps a good portion of the time.

I do not have much else to say in this post. I do feel really bad about lying to my colleague about having the flu so I don’t have to work tomorrow and hope that I am able to work through lying to them. Other than that I don’t have much else to say. I hope everyone has a good rest of their weekend. Peace Out, World!!!

 

A Saturday With An Unexpected Stresser

Posted on by Gertie

Good Morning, World!!! I had a nice and relaxing Friday evening which was a much needed form of self care for me last night. If you are wondering what I am talking about just read my last post. I am grateful that I decided to spend my Friday evening the way I did.

The reason why I am grateful for my nice and relaxing self care Friday evening was because when I woke up this morning and checked Facebook, I saw friend saying she needed “help and felt like nobody cares and the world would be better off” without her. I unfortunately don’t have her new phone number or I would have called her to see if she is okay. From her Facebook post, even though she didn’t directly say it, I would suspect that she has suicide on her mind. But there is no way of knowing as she is thinking about it as she didn’t directly say so in her Facebook post but her post did send up red flags for me as she is possibly suicidal. I did leave her a positive comment as well as a private message. In the private message, I did give her a couple of crisis numbers she could call as well as my phone number.  I think my friend is dealing with some depression as this is the time of year that her depression acts up.

Even though having my friend being vague in a Facebook post and it kind of stressing me out, I realized that I am in need of doing some good self care again. So, I made me some hot chocolate. Chocolate always seems to soothe me. I, of course realized that part of good self care is getting some food into me as I am hungry so I am eating a bowl of Rice Krispies. Granted cereal isn’t the best breakfast but at least it is food. So, having Rice Krispies and hot chocolate is both comfort food for me as well as good self care.

I don’t have much more to say in the post. I want to thank you for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated from my end of things. If it weren’t for you my reader, I wouldn’t continue to blog. So, thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Peace Out, World!!!

Just a Bunch of Randomness

Posted on by Gertie

Good Evening, World!!! I hope everyone is having a good Thursday evening. I am spending the night at my grandpa’s. I am doing so, so I can spend some time with him. I will be going home tomorrow afternoon. Yes, that means my cat, Lil Gertie, is home by herself. I have a friend who happens to be one of my neighbors that will look on my cat tomorrow morning to make she is okay which I have no doubt the she will be. My friend understands the desire to spend time with my grandpa. He friend also understand the need to check up on my cat.

I was asked this morning via text to see if I could work tonight. I didn’t want to work tonight so I told them I couldn’t because I wasn’t feeling good. I wasn’t exactly lying when I texted that I wasn’t feeling well because I wasn’t when I sent the text. Even though I wasn’t feeling all that great when I sent the text saying I was unable to work due to not feeling well, I could have worked tonight. I just really didn’t want to work.

I have some good news. I emailed my therapist yesterday to see if he could come by my apartment to on occasions to check the cleanliness of it so I can be held accountable to keeping it clean for my mental health and the health of my cat. He emailed me back saying his supervisor said yes just as long as another staff member came along. I emailed him back saying I have no problem with that. I told him I understand that it is for liability and safety reasons. I am happy that my therapist supervisor gave him the all clear to help me be held accountable in regards to the cleanliness of my apartment. No my apartment is not a disaster area but I have started to let my household chores go in recent weeks which is a sign of my depression starting to flare up again. I am grateful that my therapist is even willing to do this and then asked his supervisor who approved it.

I don’t have much else to say. Thank you so much for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated from my end as if it weren’t for you my reader I wouldn’t have a blog. Have a good evening. Peace Out, World.

Not Much To Say This Monday Afternoon

Posted on by Gertie

Good Afternoon, World!!! I hope everyone’s day is going well. Mine is just going okay. Nothing too exciting has happened today. The only thing I have done so far today was pick up my meds. Meds that are much needed but I taking but I take them because they help me with my recovery.

I do have to go to work this evening for a stupid monthly meeting. I didn’t go to Octobers meeting because I didn’t know about it and Novembers meeting was cancelled. So, I guess what I am saying is that this my first meeting at my current job and have no idea what to expect. I really don’t want to go and have absolutely no clue how long it is going to last.

Hanukkah arrived yesterday evening and I celebrated it with a friend of mine. I was suppose to go to another friends to celebrate Hanukkah tonight but due to work I won’t celebrate it with my other friend till tomorrow. I am not Jewish but two of my friends invite me to celebrate with them both at least one of the eight nights. I do this because it’s a way to honor my friends faith. I may feel disappointed that I can not celebrate Hanukkah with one of my friends tonight but I am grateful that I can celebrate with her tomorrow.

I don’t have much more to say except Happy Hanukkah to those who celebrate it. I also want to thank you from the bottom from my heart for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated. Have a great rest of your Monday. Peace Out, World!!!