Thursday Afternoon Paperwork

So, I had Thursday afternoon off, with no particular plans.  I checked my emails, and lo and behold, I had the CEU approval information and forms for the South Plains Branch NASW annual workshop in my inbox.  This includes verification forms, evaluation forms, and sign in forms.  So, I spent part of Thursday afternoon putting our specific information on these forms.  I usually would do this after work, in the evening.  It went quicker, because I was not as tired.  That was good. 

March is Social Work Month

March is Social Work Month, and our local sponsor, Raider Ranch which supplies lunch and a meeting room for our monthly meeting, did a special lunch for us this month.  Not everyone showed up who RSVPed, which I hate, but we had a nice turn out.  Raider Ranch did a really special meal.  That was great!  They did door prizes.  And the presentation was very good, and included a CEU!

I Basically Took the Day Off

I did not plan this.   I went to the grocery store yesterday.  I had planned to get up, clean house, go to the Lifestyle Center, and do yard work this afternoon. I slept well on the recliner last night, but did not feel especially rested this morning, and I was hungry all day, until mid-afternoon, which was weird.

Anyway, this morning, after I fed the cats, I picked up the book I was reading: The Chimney Sweeper Comes to Dust by Alan Bradley http://alanbradleyauthor.com/.  And, I read all day.  As I was snacking mid-afternoon, I spilled a bottle of soda pop onto a throw covering a dining room chair, so I took a quick break, put all the throws in the washing machine (past due) and cleaned the cat carrier.  Then, returned to reading and finished the book.

By the time I finished the book, it was past time to clean the bathrooms, kitchen, and vacuum the computer room, as I have a cat pan in there, and I like to clean up the stray kitty litter. 

I did all of this with only one rest break! Wow!  Usually I have to take three or four rest breaks, whether I do the cleaning before or after I go to the pool.

There was about 1/4 inch of rain in the rain gauge from last night's storm.  It was dry enough this afternoon to weed eat and mow, but it did not  happen. And the Yankees are playing the Orioles http://mlb.mlb.com/home on FOX tonight, so no yard work tonight!  We are supposed to get some more rain tonight.  Hopefully, it will be dry enough to mow and weed eat tomorrow.  I plan to do more laundry, go to an NASW planning meeting, and to the West Winds Brass Band http://westwindsbrassband.org/index.php concert tomorrow night.

Paperwork

Tonight, I was working on the paperwork for the South Plains Branch of the National Association of Social Workers Texas  continuing education luncheon series http://www.naswtx.org/default.asp?.  It is cumbersome and complex: reconciling sign in sheets and attendance verification forms.  I also review the evaluations and forward those on to the chair person so she can forward that information to the speaker.  And, I send the information about the people who paid for CEUs at the meeting to the person who submits that information and the money to the state office.

Well, to make matters more complex, Haiku thought she needed attention while I was doing this. She kept sitting on the forms, and crying for attention.  I held her, and that seemed to console her, but after she jumped off my lap, she would end up on the paperwork again.

I am reminded of Mack, my beloved dachshund terrier mix.  I would bring paperwork home to work on. After work, we usually went for a walk either in the neighborhood or at a local park . When we got home, sometimes Mack liked to be outside.  And if the weather was nice, I would join him.  But I often brought documentation to do at home.  He would let me work on the documentation for about an hour, and then he would become insistent on sitting on the paperwork. He was right. I did not need to bring that work home.  He convinced me to change from that job. 

I enjoyed that job, but realized, one holiday weekend, that I had become an "adrenaline junkie."  I had spent a long weekend on call, with very little on call activity.  But that Monday night, I received several calls, and my adrenaline kicked in.  I realized then that I needed to get out of that job, because I did not want to live on an adrenaline high. I recall discussing this with one of the doctors who did not want to see me leave the job. She told me she really liked the adrenaline high and it made it all worthwhile for her. I could not imagine.

I am forever grateful I got out of that job, and the adrenaline rush it repeatedly gave me.

My next job allowed me to watch the paint dry and the grass grow.  That was better, and as always, I gave my 100%. But it was not as challenging as it could have been.

Moving on to the prison provided me the right mix of challenge with out emergency. The prison job has paperwork, but nothing that I can bring home. What a blessing. I am so thankful that I have a job that does not allow me to bring paperwork home.  

South Plains Branch NASW March is Social Work Month Awards Banquet

Dateline:  March 24, 2015

Location:  Trustpoint Hospital, Lubbock, Texas

The staff at Trustpoint Hospital transformed their cafeteria into a lovely banquet hall, beautifully decorated with flowers, candles,  cloth table clothes and a slide show, emphasizing the teal NASW uses as its symbolic color, for the annual South Plains Branch NASW March is Social Work Month Awards Banquet.  The genial setting and format of the annual banquet allowed for networking and visiting before the meal, with hors d’oeuvres and beverages.   As social workers we regularly rush to the South Plains Branch NASW CEU luncheon meetings once a month, eat lunch, listen to the speaker, and rush off to work.  At the function tonight, we had a chance to sit back and relax, visit and mingle, and just enjoy, and be served, instead of rushing off to the next crisis.

Thanks to Bonnie Anne Rudd, who asked Trustpoint to sponsor the banquet tonight, we had a wonderful venue and a great, relaxed time.  Thanks also to Scott Brown, Trustpoint Director of Marketing, and their coworkers for their hands on efforts to make this a wonderful event.  We had a fine meal that included some wonderful desserts!  Social workers do not usually get served, and the Trustpoint staff did so graciously tonight.

After the meal, there was time for door prizes before the awards, and during the awards. Everyone in attendance was afforded the opportunity to receive a door prize!

The awards ceremony began with Pat Hollingworth  awarding the Fields of Practice Certificates

 

State Agency – Valeria Joiner

Mental Health – Margaret Lair
Criminal Justice -  Joyce Badger
Children and Families – Will Weathersby
Medical – Jan D’Orsay
Social Work Education – Cara Speer
Private Practice – Beverly Greiner
Retired – Anne Howe
School Social Work – Adelaida Montemayor
Elderly – Joyce Atkinson
 
For those certificate winners not present, we will have your certificates at the upcoming NASW events:  the annual April workshop, and the CEU lunch meetings in the coming months.

Interspersed among the awards presentations throughout the evening, were more door prizes.  As always, Cara Speer does a wonderful job acquiring “social worky” door prizes that are fun and have practical value.  Some door prizes were donated by members, including 3 Joe Arrington Cancer Center cookbooks thanks to Jan D’Orsay. One of the recipients of this door prize was Lex Webster, the chef at Raider Ranch who feeds us so well at our monthly meetings. Joining in the spirit of the evening, Lex said that since our next CEU lunch meeting is in May, he will have time to peruse the cookbook, and find something to cook for us from it at the May meeting!

This year, Public Citizen of the Year is really Public Couple of the Year:  Greg Carley most ably introduced the Reverend Ted (posthumously) and Betty Dotts, with contributions from Joyce Badger and Dr. Scott Badgett.  Mrs. Dotts gave a gracious and warm speech in acceptance.

Bonnie Anne Rudd presented the award for Agency of the Year to Raider Ranch, acknowledging their long history of hosting CEU activities, their generosity in providing us a meeting room, and free lunch!  Ashley Robertson thanked the social workers for their contributions to the community and Raider Ranch.

The Student of the Year from the Texas Tech University BSW program is Ashley Kuehl, presented by Helen Morrow. Helen told us that Ashley was the unanimous selection of herself, Dr. Elbow, Dr. Phelps and Dr. Lowe at Texas Tech! We were all given a pronunciation lesson: the name is pronounced “keel.”   Helen told us that both Mr. and Mrs. Kuehl have been United States Marines, and we thank them for their service to our country! as well as Ashley’s outstanding social work ability.  Ms. Kuehl was supported by the staff at VetStar, a part of Starcare Specialty Healthcare Systems of Lubbock County.  We thank them for their presence at the banquet!

Cara Speer, the 2014 Social Worker of the Year, presented the award to the 2015 Social Worker of the Year.  All of the previous Social Workers of the Year who were present were asked to come forward and support the 2015 winner, Greg Carley!  His efforts on behalf of the South Plains Branch include, but are not limited to, CEU activities for the luncheon series and the ethics workshop, Nominations and Leadership Recruitment, devoted steering committee member, and nominee for the upcoming election of Chair of the South Plains Branch.  Greg was out of town on business today, and we are grateful that he was able to get back to Lubbock to attend the banquet!

Poignantly, the last presentation of the evening was a memorial presentation.  Dr. Mike Rice lost his life in a plane crash earlier this year.  He, too, was a stalwart supporter of social services, and had a social worker’s heart.  He was a mentor to many, including Bonnie Anne, and gave of himself tirelessly to the needs of his patients. He was a strong advocate of the geriatric behavioral health program at Trustpoint.  One of his many passions was the American Diabetes Association, so the cost of the “ticket” for this evening’s event is being donated to the American Diabetes Association. We collected $240 + Trustpoint staff amount, and are grateful that his widow, Sandra Rice was present to acknowledge this memorial presentation.

As we departed, Scott Brown and staff, who had been taking photographs for us all evening, “framed us” for posterity. 

We asked all the social workers present to fill out a ticket with their name and phone number.  This will go into the drawing for the two NASW memberships that will be awarded at the annual ethics workshop on April 17, 2014.  You need not be present to win.  Your next opportunity to be entered into the drawing is at the workshop on April 17, 2015.  You are allowed one entry for the morning workshop, one entry for the afternoon workshop, and one bonus entry if you attend both workshops!

It was a wonderful night.  Once again, thanks to Bonnie Anne for her creativity, and the wonderful staff at Trustpoint for their efforts above and beyond!

I can’t tell you when I have had so much fun at an annual banquet.  As social workers, we need to learn to celebrate ourselves, and not always take ourselves so seriously! 

Thanks to all!

 

 

Day Off

I had the day off.  It is complicated, but Texas Tech Health Sciences Center does not recognize all of the state holidays like Confederate Hero's Day (which generally coincides with Martin Luther King Day, which the state observes as a national holiday), Texas Independence Day, San Jacinto Day, Juneteenth, or Emancipation Day, LBJ Day.  Because of this, we are granted an extra 24 hours a year of "holiday comp" to make up for the lost holiday time (this is a business decision: the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center clinics need to be open on these days, generally. But this is good, so we can take the time off at our discretion. Personally, I think that is a good idea. And although I work at the Montford Prison, we follow the TTUHSC clinic schedule.) We are supposed to use "holiday comp" before we use annual leave.  "Holiday comp" is good for up to 12 months, and is earned at the rate of 2 hours per month.  So, "holiday comp" I earn in March 2015 needs to be used before March 2016.  My "holiday comp" never lapses.

Even so, as state employees, we have to have the same holiday time off as other state employees.  So, if some of these weird state holidays fall on a weekend, we do not need to get the extra time off.  But if these holidays fall during the week, we do need to get the extra time off. Sometimes, depending upon how the Christmas and New Years holidays fall, we get extra time off during those holidays.

This fiscal year, we needed to get even more time off.  So we were granted a "spring break holiday."  (Some years we are granted 2 spring break holidays, most years, we are granted none.)

So, I had the day off on March 20, 2015.  I did not sleep in, because I had physical therapy at 8 AM at Spectra http://spectraphysicaltherapy.com/.  I always tell my therapist I have as much time as I need to be in therapy, but he worries about schedules for people, and tries to get them out in a timely way. This is amazing, he does not care how much time HE spends with people, he just does not want to impose on their schedules. (How many medical professionals do you know who have this philosophy?) So, sometimes my therapy session lasts an hour; sometimes, like today, it was over an hour.

I did some work for NASW today, getting out snail mail announcements about our annual ethics workshop to local members for whom we have no email addresses.  I sent the brochure out last night to the email addresses.

I reviewed the evaluations for the March South Plains NASW CEU luncheon meeting. I like to do this so we can give the speaker feed back.

I printed the certificates for the "Field of Service" acknowledgements for the South Plains NASW awards banquet on March 24, 2015.

I went out for lunch at Hong Kong http://hongkongsuperbuffettx.com/.  I like the selections on their buffet, (even though they do not always get good marks from the health department) and I usually bring a book, as I did today. I pay attention, and if they get really busy, I leave, but if they have open tables, I sit, eat what I want, and enjoy the hot tea while I read. Which is what I did today.  As I paid my tab, the cashier asked me about my book Team of Rivals http://www.doriskearnsgoodwin.com/books.html#team-of-rivals and I explained it to her, including it was the book that a small part of the movie Lincoln was based on. She remembered the movie, and wrote down the name of the book, and acknowledged she could get it at the library. The last time I ate at the Hong Kong, this same person told me she had seen me come in alone, and read and eat.  She said she did the same thing at a restaurant, and found it very relaxing. That was so nice of her to share.  She is Oriental, and her English is not good, but she is able to make her information known. How neat!

Later, I had the tires on the car rotated at Discount Tire http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/home.do?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=discount%20tires&utm_campaign={campaign}&s_kwcid=AL!3693!10!5370619247!26744860943&cid=1d5e418c-2789-4f35-a8fe-6db8f4d35951&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Brand%20-%20DT%20|%20Exact%20(W.%20Texas)&utm_term=discount%20tires.  I also brought my book, and read.  It was very relaxing to just read while the car was being tended to.

Then, I went to the Lifestyle Center http://www.covenanthealth.org/Our-Services/LifeStyle-Centre.aspx for a swim session .  Since I did physical therapy today, I know that doing another routine would aggravate my pain. So a swim session was calming, relaxing, and the water was very warm, which was an added benefit.

I did my weekly shopping after that, at Wal-Mart.  The clerk who checked me out was fabulous:  she told me to leave all of "the big stuff" in the cart, put the cold stuff in the insulated bag, and even recognized it had a zipper. She even asked me if I needed carry out assistance!  I sent a recognition to Wal-Mart about her, tonight.

I had expected to watch the Celtic and the Spurs  http://www.nba.com/ play tonight on TV, because earlier in the week, the game was advertised. However, tonight, the game was pre-empted by the Dallas Mavericks and the Memphis Grizzlies. Boo Hiss.

Oh well, I did some online puzzles, did some fundraising research for Catholic Charities, Diocese of Lubbock http://cclubbock.org and worked on this blog.

I hope now to settle in and do some reading before I retire.

Tomorrow, I will do some housework, some yard work, and go to the Lifestyle Center to again do some exercise.

Computer Frustration and Then Some

Okay, so Sunday night, as I was working on the computer, I got a pop up that told me my computer was at risk and did I want to run the virus scan. Well, I use a Microsoft anti-virus program, and it usually runs on Sunday night, and it usually asks me if I want it to run, and this looked like a Microsoft virus scan program, so I clicked on it.  And it ran, then it told me I had to pay for the virus scan to complete its work.  So, I knew I had been scammed, and I shut the computer down.

Monday morning, I contacted the IT help desk at Texas Tech, because as an employee, there are somethings they can do to help staff. They could not resolve my problem.  However, in the course of trying to help me, the technician copied the address book addresses I needed, for NASW, in case I had to have the hard drive re-formatted.

Well, they referred me to a commercial resource who might could help me.  I was impressed, because the  resource said they would start on the service right away. My past experience with computer technical services is that they put you on a waiting list.  It took this technical service a couple of days to fix the computer, and I did not get it back until Wednesday morning, but I was pleased to get it back and ready to use.

So tonight, I was working on some NASW stuff, and I did something, and lo and behold, a file of NASW addresses disappeared. Because the technician had saved that file, I was ultimately able to find it and import it back into the address book. I will need to ultimately refigure it, but it is useable, and I have not lost all of those addresses, as I did the last time I lost the address book.  I am not sure what I did to lose this address book, as I am not sure what I did last time to lose the address book. But, at least, this time, I can recreate it, as nothing has changed since the tech saved it for me on Monday.

I am not sure why I am having all of these technical problems.  I am thinking, especially, that someone younger and more technically savvy needs to be recruited to help us with our NASW computer communications. 

I will continue to do what I can to help my local NASW branch with communication.  I hope I am truly up to the task. 

It Was A Full Day

It was a full day at work. I did an assortment of tasks, including patient interviews, paperwork, consults with colleagues, and some networking. 

After work, I went to a Catholic Charities board meeting. It starts with a Mass, and I had a discussion with the agency director about a training I am doing on Thursday. I took minutes for the meeting. 

Then, I went to the library and found a couple of books that I wanted, and ordered an inter-library loan book.

When I got home, I read email, worked on NASW addresses, did the puzzles I do to keep my brain healthy, and which I very much enjoy, and responded to some other emails.

I am not really interested in starting to read a book tonight. There is nothing on TV I want to watch, and I am about done with the computer. Some days are like this. When we get to the end, there is an anti-climax.

Tomorrow will be a good day!

My Other Job

I belong to the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) http://www.naswdc.org/.  When I joined the local leadership was tightly held, almost secretive and closed.  I was not happy about this, and because of my angry comments, I was included in the leadership circle. I started trying to work for the local branch, including trying to do recruiting activities. 

But, then, I got on the committee that produced the yearly workshop.  That was a niche I really liked.  I have been engaged in that activity since the early 1990's. I have seen this committee morph over the years: We did workshops with other agencies in town. We did workshops with a large committee doing the planning . We did workshops with two or three of us doing the planning.

The last few years, two of us have done most of the work, except for contacting the speakers and getting their presentations approved. I have even helped with that, but only by default.

Some 10 or so years ago, I took over the job of sending out the monthly meeting announcements.  These have morphed, over the years from a newsletter (before my tenure), to a postcard. I told the steering committee I could do the postcards, and not need labels, but print the addresses on the postcards. From their we started collecting emails and have converted to sending out emails about our meetings to those for whom we have emails addresses.

And from our monthly meetings, and annual workshops, we have collected email addresses, and added those to our email list.  I now have an email list for members, non-members, and other interested professionals (marketers, non-social workers) depending upon what the message is. 

We send out monthly meeting announcements, job openings, community resource information, and requests for help for clients by email.  Usually, we do not send out political information, and marketing or fundraiser information.  If something is questionable, I consult the steering committee, people who are thoughtful about what we should send out and how I should use my time. If there is a request from an NASW member outside of the usual, the steering committee helps to determine the appropriateness of the request.

I also review the licensure list once a year to find new names for our mailing list, for our annual workshop.

Keeping up with the email addresses, and mailing addresses of people is a lot of work.  I do "group emails" sent bcc.  Many get returned, sometimes because they are treated as SPAM, sometimes because I have entered the email incorrectly, sometimes because people change their emails.  I tell new members to the list  to add the email address I use for NASW: naswlbbnews@suddenlink.net to their contact list, so the group emails are not treated as SPAM. I try to keep up with who is being added and removed from the email list. Recently, my email provider has started suspending my email account, if I get too many returns, so I have to edit those right away.

This is all very time consuming. Added to that, I try to make sure that not only the people for whom we do not have emails are on the snail mail mailing list, and anyone for whom we do not have a valid email is also on the mailing list.

For most of the year, this takes a few hours every month. But in the beginning of the calendar year, things get busy.  March is Social Work Month.  We send out ballots to nominate people for Social Worker of the Year, Citizen of the Year, Agency of the Year, and Elected Official of the Year.  We then send out a ballot to elect the nominees. And an invitation to the dinner we host to honor these people.

And, in the spring, we do our annual workshop. So, the brochure gets emailed to those folks for whom we have valid emails.  And, this is the time of year I cull our snail mail addresses, add to them for those for whom the email address we have is invalid, and search the licensure list (if I have time.)  And, then we print labels for brochures for the annual workshop.

So, this is my other job.   I enjoy working on the computer.   I enjoy having something to do as I watch TV.   This is the beginning of NASCAR season, and it is too cold to be outside playing unless I am doing vigorous yard work. So, the fit is good, as I can watch the races and work on NASW activities.

This is my other job.  I am not allowed to do this at work because of security reasons: concern about viruses and such.  But the truth be known, if I did this on work time, it would severely impinge upon my work duties, as it is very time consuming. And, the truth be known, I do not mind doing this at home, in my comfortable clothes, in comfortable surroundings watching TV or listening to music.

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