Saturday, July 31, 2004

Visitor from out of town

I spent 10 hours at work today. I did not normally mind being at work late. However I was mildly annoyed because our friend Sabrina was coming in from West Virginia. Since the group home that I work at has a policy that the residents are not to be left just alone with employees that are under 18 years of age, I had to stay while Brianne who is above 18 years of age was out taking a resident to visit her sister.

It was not really a problem but she forgot to give meds to the resident's sister and had to go back to deliver the meds. So it ended up to be past 8:30 before she returned. After which I stayed for a few minutes and then went home.

Sadly the resident's sister live around East Cleveland, which for those of you unfamiliar with Cleveland think poor minority neighborhood. The girls who work at the group home that took the resident to her sisters are suburban, white and female. I was somewhat annoyed by the story of their brush with the poor people and poor neighborhood, that they regaled to the other young girls working at the group home. Then again I grew up in the wrong side of the track so poor minority neighborhoods don't really bother me. Certainly I don't like to live in the "ghetto" as she put it. They are just people too. But I guess they don't have much in that aspect of life experience. Ahh to be young and ignorant.

Anyway...

It is really nice to see Sabrina again. She moved to West Virginia about 2 weeks after Liam was born. I am really happy to see her. She had Liam withdrawal so she wanted to visit last week but she was busy helping her friend Jaime give birth to her son Jacob Thomas last Friday. I hope we have some fun and have a chance to be together as friends.

Here is to a relatively dry (fingers crossed) and fun weekend.

Friday, July 30, 2004

POSITIVELY fun

I was injected with the PPD (purified protein deriveritive) TB test on Tuesday, I had the injection site examined and it looked like this


Suffice to say the nurse who read my red result sent me to the Urgent Care to get an X-ray to rule out active Tubercolosis.

I don't think I have Active TB but I am concerned that I may have Inactive TB.


Well I hope to find out more tomorrow

Tuesday, July 27, 2004

I am a working man again

After 6 wonderful weeks of being with Liam full time at home, I got a job!  However I did not get a teaching position (yet).  When I first moved into town about July 6 or so I got a call from NorthEast Care Center.  I had previously applied for a manager in training position, but was not selected for the interview.  I interviewed later that week, I was fully expecting the interview was for a Direct care position.  However from the start of the interview I sensed that I was not interviewing for the lower position. 
Like anyone who has tact, I pretended I knew what was going on until it was made very apparent to me that I was actually interviewing for the Manager in Training position.  After which I interviewed very well, and got the position. (yay!)
So for the past 2 weeks I have been training to fill paper work and generating reports! Ummm.
Why do I suddenly have an urge to watch Office Space? 
Anyway it's good to have a job eventho I am taking a massive pay cut.  I need insurance for Ahmie and Liam.  It's good to actually earn some money again.  The job is challenging.  It's good to have a backup when the largest school system in the area lays off 1400 teachers.

I never do anything easy.

Banking Fun

Well since the move we needed to set up a bank account so we can deposit checks and stuff.  Before the move Ahmie wanted us to use her old credit union I did not think too much of it at the time.  So 2 weeks ago we re-opened her bank account (she had an inactive account there).  Several things I did not like, 1.  they did not give us a checking account right away, 2.  they don't actually give money at the bank which was really annoying, 3.  there was only one location.  So Wednesday of last week we found out that we cannot have a checking account because our credit isn't good enough.   

So promptly we decided to get a bank account from a bank that could be found everywhere, from supermarkets, K marts and actual bank branches.  I was kinda livid over the fact that the credit union we used initially was so bad, I always thought that credit unions gave better service.  But I guess not all of them do. 

Suffice to say I'm much happier at the new bank. 

 

Good news from old friends

I called our my old friend Chris Frenz.  I have know him from way back from Boy Scouting.  He has been one of my old friends who I have been able to keep in touch with through the years.  Ahmie and I wanted to ask him and his wife Thao if they could be Godparents for Liam.  We were planning to ask them to come to Cleveland to be part of Liam's dedication ceremony.  Chris has kept track online with what has been going on with my life.  But he had news himself.

Chris told me that he and Thao are expecting and that she is 6 months pregnant. 

After the salutary congratulations, Chris and I (mostly I) talked about fatherhood, the excitement, the paternal instinct. 

I'm happy that Liam will have a (year of the) monkey cousin!


Sunday, July 11, 2004

I am back

Between baby, tutoring, and moving, I have been kept very busy for the last past 2+ weeks.
I will endevor to share the cheers, and jeers that has happened over the past weeks of absence.

I have some photos to post of the new house but not of the move, more about that later.

A story of the last visit to a close friend, with pictures.

Some stories of farewell, and generiosity.

Some stories of tears,

and some stories of anger.



Oh what weeks have it been!