day 1

today was my first “official” day volunteering at the phoenix children’s hospital

i’m the coffee cart volunteer … i make carafes and carafes and carafes of coffee and then push the cart around to all of the nurses stations and rooms providing complimentary coffee, tea and hot chocolate to parents and staff … normally there are cookies too but we’re having a cookie shortage … so … anyone that would like to donate cookies, i’m here … but they cannot be homemade … infection control etc, etc … most ideal options are pre-packaged individual sized

big deal you might think … but i can’t imagine being stuck in the hospital stressed out about my child without some coffee

i have all access to the hospital … nicu, picu, the regular floors, behavioral (psych), emergency

i got to see the little tiny neonatal babies … the young kids in the picu in diapers with IVs … the teen floor was deserted, either there were none there or they were hiding out … the behavioral unit was sad, seeing a room that was empty, really empty, nothing they can use to hurt themselves or others, makes you realize young people have problems too

so while everyone is thankful and expressing their thankfulness because thanksgiving is coming up … just remember to be thankful in may when most kids, mine included, are out playing … but some kids aren’t able to do that

glad i could help

i have, apparently, become to the go to person for ad/hd advice among my friends

i had a rather frank (more on her end than mine) conversation with a friend about this subject

this friend is married, has 2 children and is a stay at home mom for the most part, she works part time but not steadily

she called me to talk about her first grader who is starting to struggle in school … she has heard a little hear and there about ad/hd and wondered if that could be her daughters problem but at the same time didn’t want to be one of those parents that drugs their kid into a coma … her child is having trouble focusing

i advised her that i too had the same issues with my little man, i didn’t want him drugged into oblivion, still don’t, but i also didn’t want him struggling any longer, he knew there was something wrong while he was sitting at the table trying to do homework for 2 hours when it should have taken him 15 minutes and it was frustrating to him

i told her the best thing to do was to get her daughter checked, it can’t hurt and they could always get a second opinion if they wanted

she needed more … so i told her all of the things i knew about ad/hd

she started crying and wondering if she had it too after i told her it was very hereditary

i felt like i was helping an alcoholic

she didn’t finish high school because she “just couldn’t” get through classes and that was primarily the reason she was a stay at home mother most of the time, after she left school and until she got married she worked for a friends dad

she told me about her inability to get through her day, most days … how she knows the house needs to be cleaned, laundry done, etc, etc but she just “can’t get it done” … it took very little to distract her from doing what needed to be done … and even more crying when she admitted to me that she knows some of their friends no longer come over because of the state of their household … remembering what her house looked like the last time i saw her i could understand … and finally how her and the hubby are also struggling because of this problem

again, i told her to see a dr and get a second opinion if she felt the need

that was several weeks ago … after we talked she deleted her facebook and myspace

we talked again today

she and her daughter went to a dr … both were diagnosed with severe ad/hd and she was also dx with depression as well … both are on meds … the family is in counseling … mom and dad to repair their marriage … mother and daughter to address depression, manage meds and for anger management issues (which can be pretty common) … the family to build stability back into the family

she thanked me immensely …. i told her all i did was mostly listen and provide a little knowledge

again she thanked me and said that most of her other friends wouldn’t tell her the truth … she asked them after she was diagnosed about why they stopped visiting and after she prompted them they finally told her it was because the house was always a mess and smelled heavily of the 2 cats they owned

she told me that if she had not known that i have dealt with ad/hd alot she would not have known where to go … she could have ended up loosing her family and even more of her friends … that now she is learning how to get control of her day and what she needs to get done … things aren’t perfect but they are much better

i told her that’s what friends are for even if we hadn’t seen each other in years

i feel good knowing that i have helped someone if only by telling them to go to a dr and sharing what i have learned

are you shittin me??

this story really bugs me … this is the reason women in the military have such a hard time

#1 … she was in the military before she got pregnant and she knew she would not have care for her child in the event she was deployed … she also had the option to get out after having the child, no strings attached (unless the military has discontinued that practice, which i doubt)

#2 … on the CNN interview, this girls mother said that no one that has an infant should be deployed, well guess what sweetheart, do you think the damn terrorists said, “oh wait, there might be women and infants in the world trade center or on the planes we are going to hijack” … fuck no

i loathe stupid people

soldier mom refuses deployment

whoa trigger

i was looking for the new garmin commercial to annoy people on facebook … cause i’m childlish like that and came across these

wow … i remember that my mom had a gene autry christmas album, another with perry como and i think one with bing crosby … they were my earliest memories of christmas music and to this day brings back my best christmas memories … i may need to find them on cd

jimmy walker says dynomite

it’s a classic

what’s everyone doing this turkey day?

Adam Sandler – The Thanksgiving Song.

thunder down … wow

australia just premiered on HBO this month so it’s on like everyday … and with scenes like this with hugh jackman half naked and wet … yeah i’ll watch it every damn time it’s on!! lol!!

when’s the celebration?

well, i wanted to keep it on the down low in case something happened but i just can’t

I GOT A JOB!!!!

it’s a long term contract with a major financial services company i have worked with before that is going through a merger … is that specific enough without actually saying who it is!! lolol!!

i start next monday

it’s not the position i applied and interviewed for but that’s ok, it’s more in line with what i want to do

i’m not sure when my first check will be (or if i will have to work the day after turkey day cause i will be paid hourly) so i still need to hang on before i go paint the town … but i’m thinking sushi is in order … or maybe that pub crawl on the light rail …. or hell … maybe both!!

the car game

at one point while working at the big pony express bank i worked in a large high rise building in down town phoenix

the department was housed on 3 different floors with one parking garage attached to the building and another parking garage a couple blocks away, so not only were there people in the department i never saw but rarely did i see what anyone drove

the department moved to a single story facility in tempe with a guard monitored parking lot encircled with buildings, i.e. only one entrance

a co worker and i used to go on smoke breaks … she smoked … i got away from my desk for a few minutes

one day while on break we realized that it was at the end of the day for a large majority of the staff

as the staff left we began noticing the cars they were driving and thus began the car game, or maybe it was the guess what they drive game, in any event, we continued this time schedule of breaks to see what everyone drove, juvenile, i know, but it was fun … lol!

it is very interesting to see some peoples choices of cars … some were spot on stereotypical … while others … simply left us shaking out heads in awe and amazement wondering …. WTF??

tonight i had to meet my learning team at a local starbucks to start working on our final project and as i pulled up i noticed a car … and instantly i thought of the car game … i looked at this car and knew it was the one of the members of my learning team

i caught myself thinking i shouldn’t be so stereotypical … but the person whose car i thought it was, was there … and when we were leaving … my suspicions were confirmed … it was his car

stereotypical is and stereotypical does

%$))(%^ teenagers

ALL TEENAGERS LIE

don’t tell me no they don’t, i was one, so were you, we lied, even if about the small shit

parent teacher conferences were a little while back, the man child was doing ok, having an issue in language arts, which is the last class of his school day … the ex and i were figuring maybe his meds are wearing off by then and he may need his dosage adjusted

i thought he was doing pretty good, some days i don’t even have to ask him to take his med he just does it … but i did notice a couple days that immediately after taking it he was going to the bathroom …. hhhmm ok … i didn’t ask because i didn’t want to put the idea in his head of ditching his meds in the bathroom while making me think he was taking it

yesterday we (the ex and i) got an email from his language arts teacher, addressing some issues … drumming – he does this on EVERYTHING and his psych said he is now both inattentive a.d.d. and hyperactive slightly … he’s not really working and his concentration is an issue – well no shit … then she is concerned because she is not sure he has all of his assignments turned in … ok well if you, as the teacher don’t know, how the hell am i supposed to help him or get on him about completing them if you don’t tell me what he is missing??

so i asked him about this and of course it’s the kids that sit around him, i let it go figuring i would call his teacher today for more information

this morning i am waking everyone up and i realized that he hasn’t been taking his med at night … some people with a.d.d. need a “downer” at night in order to be able to go to sleep …. hhhmm

awhile back i got him one of those daily medicine dispensers so that it is easier for him because at that time he was on more meds and he really needed it … i picked it up and looked at it … yesterday i asked him if he had taken his meds before we left the house and he said yes … LIAR … you little shit … so i asked him and he couldn’t answer me … just sat there and looked at me … cause he knew he was busted …. YOU LITTLE SHITHEAD

this morning the procedure was that i stood there, made him take it, made him open his mouth to show me that he had taken it

while driving to drop them off at the bus stop (that is right by their dads house) his father called him to talk about the email from his teacher … of course he says nothing about his med issue

i started thinking that in order for his teacher to be emailing us, this needs to be a continuing issue so i asked him if he takes his medicine at his dads … “sometimes” … i know that at times in order to get information out of him you have to ask very specific questions … “does dad make you take your medicine”, “sometimes”, “do you lie to dad when he asks you if you took your medicine”, “sometimes” …. GOD DAMN LITTLE PAIN IN MY ASS … this is where i lost it … started crying and i asked him how everyone else is supposed to help him if he isn’t willing to help himself and why i should go out of my way all the time to help him if he’s just gonna lie to me … why i should try and shield him from the fallout of his father’s wrath if all he is going to do is lie to me … i told him i didn’t know if i could not tell his dad this … the bigger issue is that the ex has this thing about lying … it was one of our biggest fights … he thought that i lied to him all the time … about stupid shit like taking the lint out of the dryer, yeah stupid i know … so if he finds out that my little man has lied to him the poor kid might just get his ass beat into next tuesday

but i’m stuck in a little bit of a quandary … the ex has a.d.d. and should be on meds as well … he expects his son to “just know” he has to take his meds … in layman’s terms this is like expecting one alzhiemers patient to take care of another … and the little man gets yelled at from the ex for this, which is why i usually try to shield him a bit … the ex doesn’t understand that his son doesn’t do (or not do) some things on purpose, can’t understand because he has the same damn problem …. gggrrrr

but lying is a conscious action and i will have none of it … there is no longer a power plug on his bedroom tv and he will not be on the computer and there will be no general tv watching for him … i don’t care what he does but he will not be having fun while doing it … actually i think he will be cleaning his bathroom and bedroom and whatever else i can find for him to clean

tell me … please

am i negative?

do you think i bitch just to bitch?

spoiled and only whining cause i can’t get my way?

would you do me a favor?

if you do think this, would ya tell me? please!!

but if you do, please be prepared to listen to me tell you why i think you are wrong

i don’t really think i do … i think i just … vent … most of my bitch sessions are validated … i think

but in case you do … again … just tell me