Tag Archives: Work

Been Exposed & Under Self Quarantine

Posted on by Gertie

Good Morning, World!!! It has been a few weeks since I last blogged. There are multiple reasons why I have blogged as well as many excuses but neither the reason or excuse really matter at this moment in time. Or at least they don’t matter to me at the moment.

A lot has happened in the last week alone. I found out last Thursday (July 16th) that I was exposed to Covid-19 the last time I worked which was on Saturday, July 11th. A client of the homeless shelter I work at test positive and am grateful that this person is now at a quarantine site here in the Seattle area.

Anyway since I was exposed, I am under self quarantine and am getting tested later on today (Monday). I made the appointment to get tested right after finding out I was exposed. Another good thing regarding all this is that I had already had a virtual appointment with my doctor made for this past Friday (July 17th) which made it easy for me to talk to my doctor about what to expect regarding the test. She also informed me that she didn’t want me to go work on Saturday (July 18th) till I get tested and the results come back as negative. I informed her that my employer was being very insistent with me going into work to do my regular shift. She and I discussed that if I get fired over going against doctors orders in the midst of a pandemic will make my employer “look bad and is grounds for a lawsuit.” I am just grateful that she has my back and wrote me a note for work. She also advised me to self quarantine which is a no brainer.

Since I am under quarantine till I get tested and the results, I will be spending a lot of time at home. At least I will have my cat, Billie Dean with me. I am so happy that I have Billie especially right now. My doctor and I came up with a plan on things I can do to make sure my mental health doesn’t decline while in self quarantine. We discussed a great deal about my cat Billie Dean and how he will be helpful. I told my doctor that I have plenty of art projects I can do especially in the coloring and collaging genres. I also informed her that I have a lot of reading to catch up on. This brought up the topic of our love of reading and the books I am hoping to read. I also mentioned that I have movies I want to watch and she even suggested some that I might be interested in. We discussed music as well. Specifically we discussed me not playing my flute or harmonica just in case I am positive. This will be challenging for me to do as playing one of my musical instruments especially my flute has been a life saver for me when things get challenging for me. We did discuss that listening to music is an option and will be used. We also discussed me keeping in touch with my therapist and that she will reach out to my therapist and I informed her that I already did which she wasn’t surprised about.

Anyway, my therapist to get back to me this past Friday after talking with my doctor. He was grateful that she and I, both reached out to him regarding me being exposed. We basically discussed similar things my doctor and I talked about regarding keeping myself busy. The last thing he and my doctor want is my mental health to decline while in self quarantine and I don’t blame them. I am worried as well. I am also grateful that we will be doing daily check-ins till I get my test results back. If they come back negative then the daily check-ins will discontinue and I hope my test results will come back negative.

Anyway, I don’t have much more to say. Thank you for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated from my end of things that you read my blog. I hope everyone has a great Monday ahead. Peace Out, World!!!

4th of July

Posted on by Gertie

Happy 4th of July, World!!! Yes, I know the 4th of July is an American holiday but I just wanted to wish everyone a happy fourth. I, normally don’t mind the Fourth of July but this year I am slightly irritated by it. I think I am irritated by it because the symptoms of my mental health diagnosis have increased which is why I am not going into work today. I informed my employer that due to my disability I can not go into work today. Thankfully, they appear to be okay with it especially since they were able to get coverage for my shift.

As much as I wish my mental health symptoms weren’t acting up, in a weird way I am glad they are. I am glad they are because my neighbor has been shooting off bottle rockets and other fireworks in front of the building as well as on the community patio which I have windows over looking both. Billie Dean my cat is not a big fan of the fireworks being so close. Billie doesn’t appear to be bothered when the fireworks are farther away but when they are just outside our window then he minds especially since we live on the second floor. It is illegal to set off fireworks in Seattle and my neighbor has been setting them off since Thursday evening. Sadly, the Seattle Police are not doing shit about them. What good does having laws in place when they are not enforce them? I know the police have higher priority calls to take care of but if something happens like a fire or an injury they they will have to respond. All I know is if a bottle rocket hits my window and causes damage, I will not be a happy camper.

I best be going as I am getting angry and don’t want to rant as if I do my anger might increase. I do want to thank you for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated from my end of things that you read my blog. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog. I hope everyone has a great weekend. Peace Out, World!!!

Weekly Plans

Posted on by Gertie

Sunday

  • Get off work
  • Spend time with my cat Billie Dean
  • Take a nap
  • Work on a workbook or two
  • Do mindfulness or meditation practice
  • Do art work. (Most likely coloring)

Monday

  • Do mindfulness or meditation practice
  • Walk through local parks
  • Volunteer at PAWS Cat City
  • Work on a workbook or two
  • Do laundry
  • Do some form of art work (Most likely coloring)

Tuesday

  • Do a mindfulness or meditation practice
  • Phone session with my Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner for a med review
  • Get my meds
  • Clean my apartment
  • Do a workbook or two
  • Do some coloring as I am coloring something for my therapist

Wednesday

  • Do a mindfulness or meditation practice
  • Have an in person appointment with my therapist
  • Do some coloring as I am coloring something for my therapist.
  • Work on a workbook or two

Thursday

  • Do a mindfulness or meditation practice
  • Clean my apartment
  • Do some coloring as I am coloring stuff for people
  • Work on a workbook or two

Friday

  • Do a mindfulness or meditation practice
  • Do some coloring
  • Work on a workbook or two.

Saturday

  • Sleep all day
  • Work all night

Photography: Developing Your Eye I; Day Two: Street

Posted on by Gertie

Good Morning, World!!! Today’s topic for the photography course I am taking is “Street.” So, I decided to use picture I took during the holidays. I took a picture of the Seattle Space Needle lit up in Purple as purple is my favorite color. As you can tell I took a picture from across the street from the Space Needle and surprisingly no cars are driving by. As you can tell the street is wet from rain. The Space Needle is down the street from where I work and I remember taking the picture below as I was going to work. I also remember that I took the picture the week in between Christmas and New Years. For those who are sight impaired I put captions in with the photo explaining what the picture is.

The Space Needle lit up in purple during the week between Christmas and New Year’s

Weekly Plans

Posted on by Gertie

Sunday

  • Spend the day with my grandpa and dad as it is Father’s Day
  • Work on a workbook or two

Monday

  • Volunteer at PAWS Cat City
  • Work on a workbook or two

Tuesday

  • Walk through Ravenna and Cowen Parks
  • Work on a workbook or two

Wednesday

  • Walk through Ravenna and Cowen Parks
  • Work on workbook or two

Thursday

  • Walk through Ravenna and Cowen Parks
  • Work on a work book or two

Friday

  • Do laundry
  • Clean apartment
  • Work on a workbook or two

Saturday

  • Sleep all day
  • Work all night

As you can tell this week will be a relatively uneventful week for me.

The Communities I Call Family

Posted on by Gertie

Good Morning, World!!! As I sit here at work, I cannot help but think of how certain people become like family to you. I’ll use work as an example. When you work with people everyday, you become like family. For instance, the Saturday night shelter crew has each other’s backs when needed. We build one another up. I guess I say my colleagues are like family because we check up on each other even when we are off work.

My work colleagues aren’t the only family I have. Another family I have happens to be the community I have created while volunteering at PAWS. Specifically, PAWS Cat City and folks on my volunteer shift. That includes both employees and other volunteers. I guess my love for cats and other animals have helped me find more people to call family.

Besides my work and volunteer family, I will have to say my neighbors are family. As dysfunctional as we are in my apartment building we are a type of family. We may not always get along but when something happens we are there for each other; like families should be.

Then last but not least, my cat is family. Lil Gertie, the cat that crossed the rainbow bridge on Thanksgiving Day of last year (2019) was and still is considered my family. She was there when people let me down. Hell, she is still with me. She is my guardian angel. I truly believe that Lil Gertie played a major role in the adoption of my current cat, Billie Dean. I say this because Lil Gertie had two crinkly ears and Billie has one crinkly ear. I also believe that both Lil Gertie and Billie chose me to be their family. Being chosen by an animal to be their furrever family is an honor. I am beyond grateful that I was Lil Gertie’s family for the last year and a half of her life. She will always have special place in my heart. I am also beyond grateful that Billie is my family. I am grateful to call my cat family.

As I end this particular blog post, I hope you all ponder about who or what you call family in this life. For me family is a melting pot of people (and animals) that come into my life in various ways like I mentioned in this post. I want to thank you for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated from my end of things that you chose to read my blog even if this is the only post you ever read of my blog. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog. I hope everyone has an awesome Sunday ahead of them. Peace Out, World!!!

A Pre-Work Post

Posted on by Gertie

Good Evening, World!!! I am now awake and about to get ready for work. Part of me doesn’t want to go to work. The part of me that doesn’t want to go to work is the part where my depression symptoms are acting up. I know ultimately me going to work will help with my depression symptoms. As much as I do not like night shifts, I am grateful to have a job for several reasons. One such reason is that working does help with my mental health symptoms.

The part I don’t like about working is the fact, I am away from my cat, Billie Dean. Billie is my emotional support animal (ESA) and helps me a great deal. On a plus note, coming home from work or any other place, having Billie greet me at the door is always an awesome feeling.

As I type this blog I realize that I need to put my art supplies in my backpack so I can take them to work. Specifically, my coloring supplies. I take my coloring supplies so I can color at work to help keep myself busy. I have a lot of down time at work. I love to color. It is a type of meditation for me.

I do not have much more to say in this particular blog post. I want to thank you all for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated from my end of thing that you read my blog. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog. I hope everyone has a great rest of your weekend. Peace Out, World!!!

A Post About the Fear I Have for the People I Serve

Posted on by Gertie

Good Morning, World!!! At this very moment I am at work. I have been at work for ten and a half hours. I have another two and a half hours left of my shift. I am tired as hell. I will be eager to get home for many reasons but I need to get some shit off of my chest.

I work with homeless individuals for young adults. Many of whom aged out of the foster care system and have a major distrust of the police. Anyway, I work in a shelter that is in Downtown Seattle. Right in the middle of where the riots are. The thing that pisses me off is that many of the police officers have accused some of the young adults of looting. Sadly, many of the folks being accused are people of color and the police officers that are doing the accusing are white. I know for a fact that the young adults I work with were involved with the peaceful protest and had absolutely nothing to do with the riots as they didn’t want to be apart in harming their community. Many of the young adults were harassed by white police officers as they were trying to get to shelter. Many of the folks I work with just want justice for George Floyd and many other like Mr. Floyd that were senselessly murdered by white cops.

I just hope that people realize that the murder of George Floyd needs to be dealt with. I say this because people of color live in fear everyday of their life that some white person or even worse a white cop will kill them. I worry most about the homeless folks who are of color as they get harassed even more than other people. Please lets all just take care of each other.

As I end this post here at work, there is still a major police presence and the National Guard is present as well. Sadly, people are still committing arson as well as looting. I want to thank you for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated from my end of things that you have taken the time to read my blog. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog. I hope everyone has a great Sunday. Please protest peacefully. Stay safe while you are out protesting. I don’t want anyone to get hurt. Peace Out, World!!!

Full of Anxiety about Job Interview

Posted on by Gertie

Good Morning, World. Right now I am full of anxiety regarding my job interview later on this morning. I am not sure why I am anxious about it but I am. Personally, I am always anxious before job interviews.

On the plus note about my job interview is that the weather is nice out here in Seattle. That means I do not have to wear a jacket or sweater which can be a bit cumbersome at a job interview especially when you depend on public transportation or car services like Lyft.

Right now the hard part for me is trying to keep my cat, Billie, from sitting on my lap. As much as I would love for my cat, Billie, to be on my lap, I want to limit the amount of hair I get on me. Sadly, I don’t have one of those lint rollers. I totally forgot to buy one when I was at the store last night.

I do not have much more to say in this particular blog post. I just want to thank you for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated from my end of things that you read my blog. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog. I hope everyone enjoys their Wednesday. If you live in Seattle, I hope you enjoy the weather. Peace Out, World!!!

A Before I Leave for Work Post

Posted on by Gertie

Good Evening, World!!! I am up for the day and mostly ready for work. Overall, I slept pretty well. Even though I woke up earlier than I would have liked at least I know I woke up naturally and not by rude and noisy neighbors. In fact this was the first Saturday that I was not woken up by the same two loud and noisy neighbors on the patio in about a month. Just grateful to not be woken up so rudely.

As I type this blog post, my cat, Billie Dean is laying in my lap. I love the fact that he is in my lap at moment because my anxiety is high at the moment. Also, another reason I love the fact he is in my lap is that I won’t be able have cuddle time with him tonight due to the fact I’ll be at work for more that twelve hours.

I do not have much more to say in this particular blog post. I just want to thank you all for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated from my end of things that you read my blog. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog. Have a great rest of your weekend. Peace Out, World!!!