Wednesday, April 20, 2005

OT: Random Thoughts 4.20.05 Edition

Random Thought #1: It's been over three weeks since the agency I work for split up the individuals in the house I was staffed in. I'm a bit miffed about it because as far as I'm concerned I should have been given the choice of continuing to work with MM, who I've been with since January 04 and was the first HTS he had. Did the area director know, when she made the staffing assignments, that the HTS who wound up working with him had repeatedly broken policy by basically letting MM stay at his (the HTS's) house EVERY SINGLE TIME he was scheduled to work with him? In other words, this HTS never spent a single night at MM's own house, which is what he's paid to do...instead, he just stayed at his OWN house and let MM stay with him.
It's no use complaining...what's done is done.

It was my own choice to leave the house after MM and DC were moved out, with TM being the only one of the three left...and I made that choice partly because I didn't want to work with TM anymore, but mainly because I knew that the other two individuals who were being moved into the house were 10 times more volatile and difficult than even TM. I'll never understand the logic in putting these three guys together. I had occassion to speak to one of the HTSs who still work in that house a week ago...he told me it was a madhouse, with windows being broken, holes being punched into the walls, and non-stop chaos. He showed me a vicious looking abrasion on his arm that he explained was the result of one of the individuals biting him while he attempted to restrain the guy from fighting with another individual.

I knew this was going to happen, and I also knew that I wanted none of it. When
I talked to the area director I made it perfectly clear that my bottom line from now on is that I WILL NOT WORK WITH "FIGHTERS". I'm just too old and I don't enjoy the adrenaline rush that is part and parcel of successfully dealing with these situations.

It took them long enough to reassign me to another individual, but today I spend 8 training hours with BL, who I will be staffed with full time beginning next week.

Or maybe not...

BL has 3 cats in his house and I am allergic to their dander to the point where I cannot be around them for even an hour without severe reactions. When I was first introduced to BL in his house I was there for about 45 minutes and I paid for it the next two days with itchy, watery eyes and sinus congestion.

I have been taking Claritin for the past 6 days, hoping for a preventative when I go in today...I don't mind taking the stuff on a regular basis if it will protect me from the allergies, but here's the deal...if it DOESN'T work there is no way I can work in that house. Period.

We shall find out today.

As much as I dread the thought of having to go out and hustle up a new job, there is a part of me that would MUCH rather take on something new and different. I've been in this field (working with the developmentally disabled in their homes) for 2 years now, with 3 years previous experience working in a group home situation. I just don't know if this is where I want or need to be. I have strong doubts that I have the patience required to do this job the way it needs to be done (the last 2 years notwithstanding).

Random Thought #2: Why does my computer make such funny noises?

Random Thought #3: I finished up Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night. Wow, what a depressing play it is! I checked in my copy of the Video & DVD Guide 2003 and found that the movie version that features Katherine Hepburn received the full 5 star rating. I'm anxious to see that, but I doubt any of the video stores in town have it.

Random Thought #4: I don't know the population figures for the town where I live...suffice to say that it is the textbook definition of "small town"...but it amazes me that we have 3, count 'em, THREE video rental stores here. Is the video rental business really that good? Is this town so hard-up for entertainment that it can support all three of 'em? You'd think ONE would be enough. And of all three video stores, I'd bet they have at least 75% of the exact same titles in stock between them. AT LEAST and probably up into the 85-90% mark. Sigh.
Random Thought #5: Mainly listening to XM the last few days, especially Audio Visions and The System. Here are the last 3 CDs I've listened to in their entirety:


Anoushka Shankar Live at Carnegie Hall

King Crimson Larks Tongues in Aspic

King Crimson The ContruKction of Light

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