Tag Archives: Volunteering

Feeling Like Sh!t & Haven’t Accomplished Much

Posted on by Gertie

Good Evening, World!!! I haven’t been feeling well and sadly didn’t go in and volunteer at PAWS Cat City today. As far as volunteering at Alley Cat Project I haven’t done anything today due to sleeping most of the day. For my particular volunteer position with Alley Cat Project it is a remote position. I do have opportunities to help with other volunteer positions such as helping with cleaning and setting up kennels with where the cats are kept when in quarantine and/or awaiting medical care and/or an available foster home.

I just wish I felt well enough to do something. I am super tired but I really need to go to the grocery store to get some food to eat. I do have food here at home but it doesn’t sound too appetizing. I think I have enough energy to go to the grocery store and get some food.

I think after going grocery shopping that I will spend the rest of today and most if not all day tomorrow here at home cuddling with my cat Billie. I, of course am hoping to be able to read and do some art work at some point this evening as well as tomorrow. I do know spending time cuddling with my cat, Billie is something I will be doing.

I do not have much more to write about in this particular blog post except that I hope I feel better sooner than later. I do want to thank you for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated from my end of things that you the reader, read my blog. If it wasn’t 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

  • Mindfulness meditation practice
  • Morning walk
  • Breakfast with my partner, Junior
  • Volunteer at PAWS Cat City
  • Read
  • Art (color and/or rock painting)

Monday

  • Mindfulness meditation practice
  • Morning walk
  • Clean apartment with help
  • Shadow volunteer shift with Alley Cat Project
  • Evening walk
  • Read
  • Art (color and/or rock painting)

Tuesday

  • Mindfulness meditation practice
  • Morning walk
  • Attend Emerald House (a mental health clubhouse)
  • Shadow volunteer shift with Alley Cat Project
  • Evening Walk
  • Read
  • Art (color and/or rock painting)

Wednesday

  • Mindfulness meditation practice
  • Morning walk
  • Attend the Seattle Mariners Game
  • Evening walk
  • Read
  • Art (color and/or rock painting)

Thursday

  • Mindfulness meditation practice
  • Morning walk
  • Attend two virtual groups
  • Shadow volunteer shift with Alley Cat Project
  • Evening Walk
  • Read
  • Art (color and/or rock painting)

Friday

  • Mindfulness meditation practice
  • Morning walk
  • Attend Emerald House (a mental health clubhouse)
  • Shadow volunteer shift with Alley Cat Project
  • Evening walk
  • Read
  • Art (color and/or rock painting)

Saturday

  • Mindfulness meditation practice
  • Morning walk
  • Spend day with Junior as a date day

Weekly Check-In

Posted on by Gertie

Good Evening, World!!! It is Saturday evening here in Seattle and means it is time for my weekly check-in. Overall, I have had a good week despite some sleepless nights. I am grateful for the week I have had even when dealing with insomnia and PTSD symptoms.

My week started out my week with volunteering PAWS Cat City and I of course enjoyed myself. I love helping people and cats find the purrfect match. Seeing cats find their furrever home is priceless especially since I have been able to give cats their furrever home.

After volunteering at PAWS Cat City I hung out with some friends and we ended up going to Red Robin. I love Red Robin especially when I go with friends. In fact I went to Red Robin three times this week with friends. I am one lucky person. I always get the same thing as I know what I love and I am a creature of habit. I enjoy spending time with friends especially with some good food.

The biggest thing that has happened this week is that I am a volunteer in training with the Alley Cat Project. I became a volunteer in training after one of the volunteers who helped me trap a stray cat suggested that I apply to be one. Little did I know I would become one so quickly. It took less than two weeks which surprised the hell out of me and I am so looking forward to volunteering.

That is it for my weekly check-in. I hope you all have a good rest of your weekend. Peace Out, World!!!

Another Sleepless In Seattle Type Of Night

Posted on by Gertie

Good Morning, World!!! It is just after two o’clock in the morning here in Seattle. I am unable to sleep due to insomnia. Since I am unable to sleep I have been cuddling with my cat Billie as well as doing some mindfulness meditation through the Calm App. The mindfulness meditation has been quite helpful to quiet my mind.

Not only have I been doing some online training for Alley Cat Project (ACP) as I applied to be a volunteer two weeks ago and found out this past Tuesday that I am now a volunteer in training. Alley Cat Project (ACP) helps trap stray cats to return them back to their human or get them a new home as well as neuter and spay feral cats and if needed stray cats. That being said, people call their message line in which someone returns that call. From there coordination happens depending on the situations. Most of the time it is with the trapping team and from there the trapping team takes over. So, I will be on the incoming calls team that helps with coordination with helping the cat in need of help. So, I am really excited about this volunteer opportunity especially since Alley Cat Project helped me trap a stray cat and I am incredibly impressed with them which is why I want to volunteer for them.

I do not have much more to write about in this particular blog post except I really want to finish this part of my training so I can get my next training as I am really excited about volunteering at Alley Cat Project (ACP). I do want to thank you 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!!!

A Challenging few Weeks w/New & Refreshed Lessons Learned Along the Way

Posted on by Gertie

Happy Caturday Saturday. It has been quite a couple of weeks of being challenging for me for various reasons and many of them I have had to deal with some eighth deaths in a matter of a two week period. Some of the folks I have never met but really admired in the animal welfare community especially locally here in the Seattle area who touched the life of many humans and cats. Sadly this person took her own life and wish I would have been given to meet her in person. She will be greatly missed especially in the animal welfare community.

On the continuation of discussing death. I can’t really discuss much about it due to HiPAA law but many of the client I work with overdose on drugs and alcohol. Sadly some pass away to drug and/or alcohol overdoses and It is challenging to deal with. Thankfully I have the support of my colleagues with this especially when people have been trying to get off drugs so they don’t have to have a stigma with an addiction.

Dealing with so many deaths is the last couple of weeks I have been reaching out to my support system such as my friends, family and my colleagues as well as my therapist. I am just beyond grateful that I have supportive people in my life to be there for me. Not many people have a good support system and I have a great support system.

Now on to what I do to help with my self care. One way I do self care is due at least two mindful meditations daily; once in the morning and another one before bed time. I am also trying to put in third mindful mediation in the middle of a work day to help me refocus during work. Another way I have been doing self care is spending time with my cat as well as walking two times a day; once in the morning and once the evening. Of course another self care act is going to volunteer at PAWS Cat City a least once a week. Of course working at my job helps as well. I have been reading a lot of books that I find helpful to help with my recovery journey. I also have been doing some art work and hope to show sometime soon.

As this post comes to an end just know there is always hope along the way. I want to thank you for reading my blog. If it was not for you reading and/or following my blog, I most likely would be continuing to writing my blog. Again thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog. Peace Out World!!!!

Weekly Check-In

Posted on by Gertie

Good Evening, World!!! It is officially that time of week where I do my weekly check in. This past week has been a pretty good week. My current work schedule changed and I now work Sunday through Thursday. I have mixed feelings about it but once I get used to it, I know it will work to not just my benefit but the benefit of the clients I serve. I really like my job. I am, however, wondering if I am doing a good job as well as if I am a good fit for the team I am on. I know I am being self conscious about how I do at work. My supervisor says it’s “imposter syndrome.”

I may not be sure if what my boss says about the imposter syndrome thing, I know that I am doing well overall in regards to my mental health challenges. I, saw my therapist on Tuesday. It went well. She also emailed my psychiatric nurse practitioner stating how well I am doing mental health wise.

Speaking of my psychiatric nurse practitioner, I saw her yesterday. She too thinks I am doing well. So well that if I continue doing as well as I am doing, she is going to reduce my antidepressant to a lower dose. A lower dose that will make it, the lowest that it could go that will work effectively. I am excited about this.

One of the things that has been helping with my mental health challenges is volunteering at PAWS Cat City. Due to my work schedule changing, the day, I volunteer changed as well. I now volunteer on Friday mornings. I miss volunteering on Sunday mornings but I will get use to Friday mornings.

In between, working, volunteering and attending appointments, I have been reading. I have been reading a book on tarot cards. I am wanting to learn how to read tarot cards so it can help me with my recovery. I also hope that one day I can help others with their recovery with learning how to read tarot cards. I am slowly learning about tarot cards and am finding it fascinating.

I do not have much more to say about my week. Peace Out, World!!!

Just Another Relaxing Day

Posted on by Gertie

Good Evening, World!!! Today has been another relaxing day. I started off today like every Sunday and that is by volunteering at PAWS Cat City. I, of course enjoyed my shift as always. I, sadly am going to have to change the day I volunteer at Cat City due to a change in my work schedule. I have one more Sunday morning shift which is next Sunday, then I will be doing the Friday morning shift starting February 24th. I like the Sunday morning crew as they are awesome.

After my shift at Cat City, I went and bought myself some orange chicken from an Asian restaurant in my neighborhood. I really enjoy this particular restaurant’s orange chicken. I brought home the food and ate it. Billie wanted some of the chicken but I didn’t share with him since it wasn’t plain chicken.

When I was done eating my lunch, I took out my cat tarot cards. I didn’t do a reading but I did start reading the guide that was included with the deck. I am wanting to start doing tarot cards as a form of self care and hope that I can incorporate reading tarot cards into my daily routine.

Something I did in regards to trying to understand tarot cards better is buying a book from Amazon for beginners in tarot cards like me. I am not a big fan of Amazon but I really want to learn more about tarot cards so I can understand what the tarot cards are telling me. I hope the book I am buying is going to be helpful.

I do not have anything else to discuss in this particular blog post. I do want to thank you 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 writing my blog. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog. Peace Out, World!!!

It Has Been a Great Weekend

Posted on by Gertie

Good Evening, World!!! It is barely after six in the evening here in Seattle, Washington. As the title of this blog post states; it has been a great weekend. Actually it has been a pretty awesome weekend. First things first I had a great night sleep on Friday which led me to sleep in on Saturday morning to nine o’clock in the AM. Waking up that late is not very common for me and am beyond grateful for it especially since Billie my cat allowed me to sleep that late. I also had a great night sleep last night, Saturday. I did need to get up at eight in morning this morning (Sunday) so I could attend my regular morning shift volunteering at PAWS Cat City.

Okay, now let’s get back to how awesome yesterday (Saturday) was. I started off sleeping in longer than I normally do especially with a cat that likes to be waking me up an hour or two earlier than nine in morning. Spent the day mostly being able to read a book with my cat, Billie on my lap. Later yesterday (Saturday) afternoon/evening, I spent time volunteering at PAWS Cat City. Saturday afternoon/evening is not my typical shift but every time I do a shift my mood improves even if I am already in a great mood. When I got home from volunteering yesterday (Saturday) afternoon/evening, I of course payed attention my awesome cat, Billie. I then went online and went to Amy Grant’s website to see if she was going to do any Christmas concerts here in the Seattle area. Sadly, she is not however she is going to be on tour next year and will be holding a concert in Bremerton, Washington which is a ferry ride away from Seattle. When I saw that she (Amy Grant) will be in concert in Bremerton on March 14, 2023, I bought a ticket and booked a hotel room. I’m going to be staying in a hotel as I don’t want to worry about missing last ferry of the night back to Seattle. Needless to say I am beyond ecstatic that I will be seeing Amy Grant in concert. On that note, it took me about a half an hour to start calming down with all the excitement of knowing I will be going to an Amy Grant concert so I could continue reading the book I was reading earlier in the day.

Now on to today. I woke up earlier than I wanted due to my cat, Billie, wanting wet food as well as wanting to play. Despite waking up earlier than I desired, I had a really good night sleep. After feeding and playing with Billie, I ate breakfast and got ready for my volunteer shift at PAWS Cat City. I, of course went to my volunteer shift this morning and immensely enjoyed my shift as always. I love volunteering and giving back to my community. I especially love volunteering at PAWS Cat City. After, volunteering I got take out of Orange Chicken from a local Asian restaurant and ate part of it here at home. I will eat the rest after I am done writing and posting this particular blog post. After eating lunch I read some more of the book I was reading yesterday. In fact reading is what I have been doing most of the day and Billie was on my lap a good portion of that time. Now, I am writing this post. In fact I am almost done writing this particular post as I am getting hungry for dinner.

I really do not have much else to say for this particular blog post. I do want to thank you for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciative from my perspective that you, the reader, read my blog. If it was not for you the reader, reading my blog, I would not be writing my blog. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog. Peace Out, World!!!

No Job Equals No Money

Posted on by Gertie

Good Evening, World!!! Actually it is almost past evening as it is just after eight in the evening Seattle time. I’m worried that if I don’t get a job soon that I won’t be able to pay my rent. I just don’t want to lose my subidized housing. I keep keeping interviews but no jobs. I hope that when you read my blog that you press on the advertisements on my blog. It gives me a couple cents here and there but once it hits at least $100 or more I get the money. So it would be greatly appreciatedi if you can pres on my advertisements.

I’m also creating some crafting and artsy stuff to sell to help pay the bills. I hope you can help me with at least clicking the advertisements to help me with money. I need to get at least one underdred dollars for the advertisements.

I am still looking for a job and it’s geting frustrating that I am a “good” candidate but never the one they choose which suck shit.

On that note music, volunteering and educating myself is helping me keep me busy.Leaning new things is always a good thing.

I beg of you pressing my advertizements to help me earn money.

Thanks for reading my blog.

Everyday Inspiration; Day 19: Feature a Guest

Posted on by Gertie
A picture of Billie Dean the Kat who is the featured guest

Good Morning, World!!! I know it is weird to have a cat or any animal as a featured guest on a blog. My plan is to ask him questions and answer them the way I think he would answer them as he were able to speak human and not just meow like the cat he is. Here is the “interview.”

Me: How did we originally meet?

Billie: We met while you doing a regular volunteer shift at PAWS Cat City.

Me: Was it love at first sight for you?

Billie: I think it was love at first sight for the both of us. I know you love my crinkly ear and you can’t deny that.

Me: When you came home with me, how did you feel?

Billie: Do you really need to ask that question? You know I love you unconditionally.

Me: What can I do better as your parent?

Billie: You can feed me at the butt crack of dawn when I ask for it then. Hell, you can feed me whenever I ask for it even if there is still food in the bowl.

Me: You do realize I’m not going to get up at the butt crack of dawn to feed you when I know you have food?

Billie: Yes, but do you remember who runs this home?

Me: Of course I do. You run this home, I just pay the bills.

Billie: I love you but I’m done with this interview. It’s time for another nap.