my job and stuff

good day to ya'll. surprised im back so soon? me too, actually.

i just thought id fill you guys in on my job. i wear several hats on my job. in the AM i pull and put away charts for therapists and doctors, keep things straight in there, split/purge charts and a bunch of other lil stuff under the title of organization. i do this in a little room with wall to wall charts. there is a window in there so im not disconnected from the outside world. however, i do shut the door and kinda honker down in there by myself, turn on the radio, and rock and roll to the peru classic rock station.

i think i have the best of both worlds in my job. in the AM i can close myself off and enjoy peace & quiet, and of course i "rock on". i dont really have to deal with any human beings if i dont want to. great way to start a day, huh?

in the PM i go downstairs to the in patient unit and round up my patients for relaxation/acupuncture group. those that are here for detox can get the acupuncture. its really great. i 'needle' myself daily. its so relaxing and for me, it stimulates my imagination, by means of my senses. my ability to imagine aromas is greatly increased while 'needled'. my sense of physical touch is too. for instance i notice every little hair that moves on me, my nose tends to tickle a lot, it breaks 'stuff' up so my smokers cough is productive. (ew, gross) ive had patients tell me all kinds of stuff that the acup does for them. oh yeh, after i get the detox pts 'needled' we all put our feet up and many of the pts bring their blankies and pillows. some take naps, and and others choose to remain alert but relax. when everyone is comfortable, we turn out the lights, and i turn on a water feature that looks like a candle flickering, and turn on soft relaxation music. then we have about a half hour - 45 min to just 'chill'. i must explain that this is aricular acupuncture, not full body. i use 5 needles in each ear. (the front outter part of the ear)

anyhoo, after relax group is over, we go to what they insist on calling activity group. also led by me. this time we go into a room (with lights on, he-he) with tables and chairs and i teach on something. self esteem, more about relaxation techniques, thought processing and ways to learn to have control over your own thoughts and behaviors, we play games, we simply blab, when the weather is nice we go outside and play croquett, blow bubbles, write on the sidewalk with big hunks of chalk, play horseshoes, and i try to go with the flow with the type of pts we have at the time. i love it. as a kid, i wanted to be a teacher. never in my wildest dreams did i think it would take this kind of turn. i get to teach from my own life experiences. how ive screwed up and got better, (or not) and how to not screw up in the first place. what a great job i have. ive been here at trinity almost l8 years. coworkers are mostly recovering addicts and alcoholics and are so much fun to work with. sometimes we catch the patients watching us, and wondering why they are on 'that' side of the desk and we're on the other. ive had the same immediate supervisor since day one, and shes one of the reasons im choose to remain. to have a boss that really cares and doesnt hide out in an (as she calls it) 'ivory tower'. and im not butt kissing either. we all feel that way about her, and we're all pretty verbal about it.

soooooooooooo, after group and charting on each pt, i come back up to my little office and either score psych tests, or read/go online and create and put together new things to teach and present to the patients. i have a very strong 'yearnin for learnin'. creating new lessons, keeps my mind open to new and different views.

well, folks, i know i tend to get pretty long winded, but i do that more when i talk. so consider yourselves blessed that youre only reading my words, not having to listen to them. lol!

gonna go for now.............you all have a great day, and be extra kind to someone today.

:) ibkaryn4u