Tag Archives: Washington

Everyday Inspiration; Day 6: The Space to Write

Posted on by Gertie

Good Morning, World!!!  Today’s assignment is in regards to writing space and what method of writing do we prefer. For me it depends where my mindset is to where I write and what method I use to write.

When I blog, I obviously use a computer. Actually, use a laptop. Most of the time, am home when I decide to blog like I am now. There are a few occasions where I am not home when I blog. Those are times when I am out of town for whatever reason. A couple of times I have blogged from a city part here in Seattle as well as when I was in Olympia (Washington) visiting family.

When it comes to journaling I usually use a pencil with a journal that has paper in it. It doesn’t matter where I am when I journal. I have been known to journal on the city bus. When I journal it is usually when I have something on my mind that is really bothering me however I do journal at least once a week to just say how my week went. One of my favorite places to journal is when I am near a water like a river or ocean.

I don’t have much more to say about the space I write in. My cat tends to want to “help” me write whenever I blog or journal. We all know that cats just want to get attention when we are try to do something. I love my cat.

Stuck in the Hospital, Mason’s Story

Posted on by Gertie

When I saw this on a friends Facebook page I had to read further and decided to reblog it. This saddens me a great deal.

jshortjr's avatarStuck in the Hospital

My name is John Short and I am an Emergency Medicine Physician at Mason General Hospital in Shelton, Washington. The following is my first-hand account of an ongoing injustice perpetrated by the WA state government against a disabled person:

Mason.jpg

“Mason”* has been abandoned by DSHS and the State of Washington at Mason General Hospital (MGH) in Shelton, WA since the 12th of December, 2018 when he was brought to the emergency department for behavioral problems (no medical problems were apparent). He has been a client of DSHS and the Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA) since he was a child. He moved from another part of the state 2 days before being taken to the ER. Unfortunately, the residential facility that had accepted him found that they were unable to continue to take care of him. They requested help from law enforcement and the Designated Crisis Responder (DCR). The residential facility believed…

View original post 727 more words

Good Things In Therapy + Whining About 911 Outage

Posted on by Gertie

Good Evening, World!!! As many of you know who live in the United States there was a 911 outage due in most of the nation due to a network problem with Century Link. I am a Century Link customer for my land line and internet service and am grateful that my phone line and internet was not interrupted and have only had one issue with them in eighteen years of service. But for me a customer service issue is far different than a 911 outage and the 911 outage has me livid as hell. I won’t change companies because of the outage but have 911 go out in one city much less much of a nation is NEVER a good thing as people lives are at stake.

The worst part about the 911 outage is that the fire alarm system went off in my apartment building twice due to neighbors burning food and both time it didn’t alert the fire department. The alternative numbers that were given to us were busy so some of us, including myself, walked to the closet fire station which is only seven blocks away to let them know. The battalion chief was grateful for me and my neighbor for letting them know about the alarm system going off both times and the back up number not working both time. She even called “the powers at be” to let them know about the back up emergency numbers were not working.

I know that most of the 911 outages are taken care of here in Washington but it is still affecting parts of Seattle. It is effecting my neighborhood in Seattle which sucks. But at least the state and county are at least keeping people updated.

Now on to my session with my therapist today. We discussed what happened to my dad with his seizures as well as my mom overdosing on Heroin and how I able to not be in crisis myself after such a stressful holiday. He stated “with all the family crisis’s going on and the grief of your grandma, I am proud of you that you didn’t let you it put you into a crisis. You deserve to be proud of yourself.” We discussed how well I have been doing and that not calling the crisis team of the holidays shows major improvement in my recovery. Which is true. Even when I was doing extremely well, I had to call the crisis team at least once over the holidays and this year was the first time in over a decade that I didn’t have to.

I don’t have much more to say except that I have a great therapist. A therapist that is awesome. Thank you for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Happy Friday!!!  Peace Out, World!!!

The Sh*t That Is On My Mind

Posted on by Gertie

Good Evening, World!!! It has been a few days since I last posted. I have attempted to post but hit road blocks and writers block along the way. So today, I am saying fuck it to both the road blocks and writers block and just write what I am thinking at the moment. Yes, it is a scary thought. Yes, I will be writing what I am exactly at the moment. Yes, it might not make sense.

Right now I am dealing with some fucking anger. Anger over the mass shooting in California. Why in the hell is this shit still fucking happening? Why is the media blaming mental health challenges, yet again on the mass shooting? Why are people on social media sites doing the same thing? Seriously, people who have a mental health challenge are more likely to be the victim of a violent crime than a perpetrator of one. Why can’t mainstream media share that?

Okay, if you are a regular reader, you know I live in Seattle, Washington. Anyway a couple of initiatives recently passed here in Washington. One was for better gun control. I personally had mixed feelings on this initiative because of possible HIPPA violations. I would have voted for it if it weren’t for the HIPPA violations. I am all for common sense gun control but when it violates a persons medical privacy then its an issue for me. Another initiative  that passed and I voted for is better and more training for police officers in regards to people who are in a mental health crisis. I don’t understand why people have an issue over more training for police officers. Hell, I personally think any type of training for any career is a good thing.

I am having some high anxiety right now. I haven’t had therapy last week or this week due to my therapist being out sick. I can’t help but think this is going to be another repeat of what happened when Diana left unexpectedly two years ago due to a cancer diagnosis. I feel like I am have very similar conversations with the on call clinicians that I had two years ago as I “have no evidence” that my therapist wont be coming back which is true but when its happened before you tend to worry and be anxious about such things. I just don’t need another change in my mental health care. I hope my therapist gets better and does come back but I’m not holding my breath at the moment. I don’t think the clinicians I’ve talked to over the last two week really understand the fear I am having right now especially with having a new job and the holidays coming up.

Thanks for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated. I hope everyone has a great weekend ahead. I am grateful for each one of you who read my blog. Again, thank you for reading. Have a wonderful evening as well as a good weekend. Peace Out, World!!!

Smokey In Seattle

Posted on by Gertie

Hello, World!!! It sure has been smokey here in Seattle due to the wild fires across Washington (State). It is so bad that they are putting out smog alerts even though its smoke causing the poor air quality. All the smokey air is due to the wild fires.

The smoke has been so bad that it is affecting my health. Specifically, it is affecting my breathing. More or less my asthma has been acting up quite a bit due to the poor air quality.

The poor air quality won’t stop me from going swimming at my grandpa’s house. I am looking forward to swimming as well a spending time with my grandpa. I try to spend as much time with my grandpa as possible as he isn’t getting any younger.

I should get going as my grandpa will be here soon to pick me up. Thank you for reading me ramble on about meaningless shit. I appreciate all of you. Have a good rest of you Monday. Peace Out, World!!!

Photo 1; Day 6: Solitude

Posted on by Gertie

Good Afternoon, World!!! Today’s topic is of solitude and I thought of the perfect picture from Christmas of 2017 in Olympia, Washington.

IMG_0115The above picture is from my hotel room I stayed at while visiting family for the holidays. As you can see I had a white Christmas. I stayed in Olympia, Washington as mentioned which is the state capital. You can see tiny bit of it three quarters of the way up on the left. So the solitude part of this picture was when I walked around the lake while listening to the sounds around me. I went back to the hotel room and had hot chocolate while looking out the window to the scene that is pictured above.

Thank you for reading. Have a great day. Peace Out, World!!!

Photography 1; Day 3: Water

Posted on by Gertie

When I found out that todays topic to photograph was water I became ecstatic as water in my peaceful place. Its the place where I feel a sense contentment. Both the emotions of peacefulness and contentment are rare for me to experience which is why I love the water so much.

IMG_0006The above picture is taken from a hotel that I stay at from time to time in Bremerton, Washington. It’s just a ferry ride from Seattle. The hotel I stay at and the Bremerton ferry terminal are near the Bremerton Navy Base and Bremerton (Puget Sound) Shipyard. The picture above is of a sunrise over the Puget Sound. This picture brings me peace.

Thank for reading. Have a great Sunday everyone. Peace Out, World!!!

Sleepless In Seattle & Middle of Night Ramblings

Posted on by Gertie

Hello, World. Ugh, I am unable to sleep. I’m unable to sleep because of insomnia and being worried about my grandma. Being worried about my grandma is what has helped me use my DBT skills.

Skills that are helping me do the one of the photography courses WordPress does for free. I’ve realized through this that I like photography. Some of the assignments I already have pictures while others I have to go out and take pictures. Most of my pictures are taken right here in Seattle while others are taken in other parts of Washington. I, of course explain where the pictures are taken if they are not in Seattle.

Another thing that has been helping me is reading. I’ve been reading a history text book. I’m finding that really interesting. I have also been reading the book I’ve been talking about for the last week or two. I’m loving the book.

Thank you for reading. Goodnight and Peace Out, World!!!

The Joys of Being a Homeless Advocate and Pearl Jam Fan

Posted on by Gertie

Good Afternoon, World!!! It was announced yesterday that Pearl Jam is going to be playing their first concert here in Seattle in over five years. I, as Pearl Jam fan am beyond thrilled that they are finally coming back to Seattle to hold a concert. Not just one but two concerts and am looking forward to attending at least one of them.

As being a Pearl Jam fan finding out that they’re coming to the city you live isn’t exciting enough but being a homeless advocate this is even more exciting. Pearl Jam having what they are calling “home shows” is going to be donating money to help fight homelessness. If you been following my blog for a while you know I am a huge homeless advocate. It just happens I haven’t blogged much about it since I haven’t been doing all that well. However, with the news that was announced yesterday, and the hope that I am slowly getting back, it reignited my passion to help the homeless population. In fact they will be donating one million dollars. That money can and will going really far if they know where to donate it.

So as you can tell, that as I end this post, I am filled with hope and joy that one of my favorite band is playing two “home shows” and fight homelessness at the same time. Thank you for reading my blog once again. Peace Out, World!!!

P.S. I want to thank Pearl Jam for their donation to help end the homeless crisis here in Seattle.

Poor Air Quality + Therapy = Challenging Day

Posted on by Gertie

Good Evening, World!!! Today, hasn’t been the easiest of days for me but overall its been a good day. I have two main reasons why it hasn’t been the easiest of days and plan telling you about it in this post.

Let’s start with what is hitting close to home for a lot of folks here in the Seattle area; the air quality. Or maybe I should say poor air quality. The air quality is the worst I’ve personally experienced here in Seattle. I’ve had personally experienced worse air quality due to the fact I spent the majority of my childhood in Southern California however today was bad even for California standards. The poor air quality is due to the wild fires from across the state.

The wild fire smoke is so bad here in Seattle that many across the city have experienced their first time seeing it “rain ash” instead of actual water. It is an eerie experience seeing “rain ash” here in Seattle. I’ve experienced it before when I when I grew up in California but never here in Seattle. The picture below is suppose to be looking south at Downtown Seattle but you can’t see it because of all the smoke and ash in the air. On a clear day you would be able to see Downtown Seattle. I wish I had a picture to show a comparison however I don’t. So, I guess you’re going to have to take my word on that you can see Downtown Seattle from this vantage point. No, its not the usual “Seattle Gloom.” Yes, it is all ash and smoke from the wild fires from the wild fires.

IMG_0002

As difficult as it was for me with my breathing due to asthma because of the poor air quality, therapy was just as difficult for me. See, at my request from my last session my therapist and I discussed today about the Self-Soothing skill of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). The Self-Soothe skill is not an easy skill for me. In fact its one of two skills that aren’t second nature to me yet in regards to DBT skills. In fact its the skill I find the most difficult to do at the moment. Actually, its the skill I have found most difficult for me to do throughout my experience with DBT.

While my (relatively) new therapist and I discussed the self-soothing skill, it brought up a lot of other shit. Shit I don’t necessarily want to discuss on my blog or even am ready to discuss on it but shit that was difficult to talk to my therapist about. While discussing all the shit, my therapist decided to give me homework. My homework is to come up with five to ten affirmations. She let me set the number of affirmations I could write and I chose five to ten because I sort of wanted to challenge myself. Little did I know that this was going be an on going assignment. My therapist informed me that there is a second part to this assignment however I won’t get the second part of the assignment till our next session in two weeks. In all honesty, I’m not a big fan of homework as part of therapy but I have found it quite helpful to me. Therapy homework has helped me with my recovery which is why I attempt to not complain about it much.

I have found throughout the years that many of the “assignments” that I have received from therapist its to help me. Most of the assignments have ultimately helped me. I’ve had a handful that haven’t helped but that’s because I wasn’t exactly in the right space to have them assigned to me at that time. I do have to say that this assignment of having to write five to ten affirmations will help me. I might even share them with you when I am done with them. It won’t be easy for me to do but am looking forward to doing the assignment.

I’m looking at the time and realize that I’m a little hungry and am needing to eat. I also looked at how much I have written thus far and realize it might be getting a bit long for some of you. So, this is the point of my blog post to tell you, thank you for reading. I am truly grateful that you read my blog. Peace Out!!!