Life in Stumptown

I’m feeling like quite the defeated blogger lately.  Beyond not even writing, I’m not reading others’ blogs either.  And to think I was such a proponent of blogging just a month or two ago!  I’ve been feeling so torn lately — there’s so much that I want to invest my time in — school, interning, church, photography, Rob, new and old friendships, exploring Portland, utilizing the rec center at PSU, etc. etc…and I just feel like I can’t give 100% to anything like I used to be able to.  This is very frustrating for me.  But, I do enjoy everything I’m doing and am just taking it day by day.  So, thanks for being patient with my lack of updates.  Here are some highlights:

• I had my first “on my own” shift at PWCL (the crisis line that is a paying job).  It was overwhelming and there’s definitely a learning curve that I’m on the bottom end of, but I feel confident that it’ll be okay, I’ll enjoy it, and I’ll improve.
• Training for CWS is still going well.  It’s such an interesting group dynamic.  For me, a lot of the info is review, but to others they are learning it for the first time.  It’s especially interesting around issues of diversity and oppression with the crowd I’m in.
• I worked a 12 hour shift last Friday at the residential facility and was actually able to get all of my reading done for the week!  What a blessing!
• Elena came over Friday night and I had a great time with her and Bekah (my new roommate) painting our nails and catching up.
• Rob and I shot our first wedding together on Saturday!  It went extremely well!  Rob is taking on the task of editing pictures.  When they’re done, I’ll post some!
• We Waffle Windowed after church on Sunday with a big group of people   The rest of Sunday and Monday was spent doing homework.
• On Monday night, Rob and I went on a real date.  Those are rare.  We went to Cathedral Park for a bit just after sunset, then up to Nob Hill.  There’s a cute little strip on NW 21st Avenue of shops and cafes.  We had dinner, grabbed coffee at our favorite coffee house, and then saw Trouble the Water in an old theater and sat in the balcony.  The air smelled like fall, leaves were on the ground, and the trees had lights on them.  It was the perfect little spot.  And I highly recommend the movie — it’s a documentary about Katrina in which filmmakers paired with a husband and wife who had home footage from the storm.  It addresses a lot of the inequalities that the victims experienced from the government and shows the third world conditions of the Gulf Coast at that time.  Plus the wife is an inspirational rapper and I totally want to buy her CD if I can find it on the internet   And Mary Mary sang Wade in the Water for the soundtrack…they all sing Shackles, if you’re familiar.  “Shackles off my feet so I can dance, I just want to praise Him, I just want to praise Him…

Alright, I have to run and grab a seat in class.  It fills up quickly.  I miss you all!

When I start getting phone calls for no other reason than to assure I’m still living, I guess it’s time to update the blog.  An apology to all of my readers — turns out grad school is time consuming — I’ll give you a brief recap of the past few weeks.

I finished ASIST suicide training…I’m going to use Rob’s words and say it’s the bomb.com.

I love my classes!  I’m taking a diversity and social justice class which is taught using the oppression theory rather than an understanding different cultures approach.  I was happy to find out that Shanti, from the advanced standing cohort, is in that class with me.  So, we sit together and then go to the rec center after class.  Next is my advanced practice direct human service class.  I’ll have the same professor for all three quarters and I’m quite excited about that because she has spent the majority of her social work career as a therapist.  Katy and Meghan from my cohort are in that class with me.  And I met a new friend — Heidi!  She’s Jewish and from Alaska.  Although, I don’t believe she can see Russia from her house, she is very cool, and we mutually were wondering if each other was Jewish.  You know — curly hair and big noses.  And finally, I’m taking the DSM class.  That’s the Diagnostic Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders.  So, it’s kind of a meaty class as you’d imagine.  We’re learning how to diagnose.  Meghan and Katy are in that class also, and so is Stacy from CWS.  I like all of my professors a lot and I think it’s going to be a good quarter, just with a lot of work.

Two Thursdays ago I was the photographer at the CWS Domestic Violence Awareness Month Kick-Off Event.  It was somewhat successful — as much as a non-profit event like that can be.  I really enjoyed looking at all of the artwork on display.  Rob came to it with me because he wanted to be my “assistant.”  He also got to see where I work and meet who I work with.

Two Fridays ago Rob cooked dinner for everyone (Beth, her friend Steph, my new roommate Bekah, Elena, Jacob, Amanda, her roommate Nicole, and me).  He’s been cooking dinner a lot lately which is so helpful since time has been quite the commodity for me lately.  Elena and Jacob were great and let him stay there with Jacob and Elena stayed with me.  Plus Bekah and Beth have been hugely accomodating since he’s been over a lot, you know, due to homelessness.  Which, by the way, is no longer an issue because he got a place!  Yay!  We’d still appreciate prayers on the job front though…  Hearing him and Emily is really making me dread graduation and job hunting.  Anyhow, back to last Friday, it was great to hang out with everyone.  We watched an 80s John Cusack movie after dinner.

That Saturday we Waffle Windowed, of course.  Kind of.  We were too hungry for the Waffle Window, actually, so Rob, Elena, and I went to Cup and Saucer down the street for lunch, but we split an appetizer of a pumpkin pie waffle which is AMAZING!  My weekend primarily consisted of school work after that with the exceptions of church, the grocery store, and a photography lunch meeting with a potential client, which went well.

I had to take my car into the shop that Monday and drive a golf cart of a rental around.  I got rear ended and now have a beautiful new bumper   That Tuesday was crazy — 8-11 at Columbia Care.  12-3 at Portland Women’s Crisis Line, and then the rest of the night at CWS for training.  And on the way I found a great Rag-O-Rama-esque place where I bought 8 shirts for 21 bucks!  One was actually a jacket and one was for Rob.

That Wednesday I had class all day (9-8:30 because all my classes are in one day).  That Thursday I worked from 7-5 and then had CWS training from 6-9.  Friday was a bit lazier.  I had clinical supervision, but other than that I tried to read for a while, ended up falling asleep, and went shopping and to dinner with Sarah and Elena in Beaverton.  I had training all day on Saturday and then had a cute date planned for Rob and me, but I failed.  I looked at the wrong movie time.  We sat down in the living room theater at Kennedy School expecting to watch Wall E, but unfortunately it was Tropic Thunder — a stupid Ben Stiller/Jack Black movie that made fun of every culture, MRDD folks, and had all kinds of gender stereotypes.  The language was horrible and the movie wasn’t even funny.  We ate our dinner (at the Kennedy School you can get dinner and a movie for the price of a movie and they have Rubies on draft and you sit on couches and stuff) and then left.  We went to Random Order coffee house and I studied for the rest of the night.  On Sunday we went to church, which was about Advent Conspiracy.  I want to write a whole blog about it when I have time — but for now, check out www.adventconspiracy.org if you want.  We went to the grocery and then I came home to do more reading.  I had a perfect study break with Elena — we went to Cathedral Park to take pictures.  It was so peaceful and beautiful.  I’ll post some shots when I get a chance.  Rob made me chicken soup from scratch for dinner and then I went to work from 7-11.

Yesterday I sat in on a Seeking Safety support group and observed the clinical supervision of the counselor I work under.  I came home to write two reading responses and do this tape recording assignment.  Rob made chili for dinner with corn muffins which I plan to eat for the rest of the week.  Then we watched multiple episodes of the Office and the Wonder Years at his house.

Today I slept in and had a relaxing morning.  Rob made egg sandwiches.  I’m telling you — I could get used to this cooking thing.  I’m on my way to CWS for the afternoon/evening…another 6-9 training.

So, now you know, I’m alive and well