Monday, May 25, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Some co-workers talked me into playing Mafia Wars. It took all of about 2 minutes to get me hooked. I haven't accomplished anything work related today, but I've completed several jobs. I got tired of waiting for my energy to refill so I started playing Vampire Wars. I was just getting into it and figuring stuff out when the server went down, or so we all thought.
It seems Facebook has been blocked from use at work. What are we going to do? Really, what am I going to do all day now? There's not enough work to fill a whole 8 hours. I don't have time to play Mafia Wars or Vampire Wars at home. I come to work for 8 hours, go home and take care of Jake, watch a little tv, and then hit the sack. There's no room for any kind of Wars. I think I just shed a little tear.
It seems Facebook has been blocked from use at work. What are we going to do? Really, what am I going to do all day now? There's not enough work to fill a whole 8 hours. I don't have time to play Mafia Wars or Vampire Wars at home. I come to work for 8 hours, go home and take care of Jake, watch a little tv, and then hit the sack. There's no room for any kind of Wars. I think I just shed a little tear.
Friday, May 15, 2009
The "Fight Club"
A couple of months ago some staff members at Corpus Christi State School got busted for organizing what everyone is calling a "fight club." At the time I was working in the State Schools section of DADS and things were pretty rough. We were all told we weren't allowed to talk to anyone about the situation and the acts were only "alleged," even though there was video evidence. It was only a matter of time before the videos were released to the media.
Two months later, the media has finally started talking about the situation, in depth, and the videos have been released. The videos are from staff member's cell phones and it was a complete accident those videos were found. A staff member, apparently, left their cell phone, by accident, at a hospital and it was recovered and turned in to the police. The videos surfaced and tell a horrible story.
It makes me sick to think people can treat other human beings in this way. If you watch the video you'll see a man walking away and moaning, pleading with his staff. "I'll be good!" Watching it brought tears to my eyes. The sad thing about this is, other than the obvious, it went on for a long time. How did no one know about this? How did no one notice the bruising and cuts on these individuals? How did no one report, even anonymously, the situation? The staff directly involved were fired and have been convicted. What about the other people who knew about it? You can't tell me NO ONE knew about it. Are people really so heartless they could sit back and watch as disabled people are beaten up?
It angers me that our system allows for this kind of behavior to happen. Caring for people with developmental disabilities is not an easy job. It's stressful and trying and usually goes unrewarded by employers. When you pay someone minimum wage to care for people, the "Fight Club" is what happens. Higher ups at State Office came up with "great" plans to fix the problem, but not any of their solutions paid people more money. Not any of their solutions will actually prevent this kind of behavior. Texas is so far behind, it's sick. Why can't we use other states as models and make our system better? I just don't understand.
There's legislation talk that will close Texas State Schools, but they won't. These facilities house around 5,000 people. Where would all of those people go, you ask? They'll go to community homes which are just as bad. It's not our State Schools that are the problem, it's people's thinking. It's our local society that's the problem. What does it take for people to realize the current system is failing, has been failing for a long time, and we're hurting innocent people?
Two months later, the media has finally started talking about the situation, in depth, and the videos have been released. The videos are from staff member's cell phones and it was a complete accident those videos were found. A staff member, apparently, left their cell phone, by accident, at a hospital and it was recovered and turned in to the police. The videos surfaced and tell a horrible story.
It makes me sick to think people can treat other human beings in this way. If you watch the video you'll see a man walking away and moaning, pleading with his staff. "I'll be good!" Watching it brought tears to my eyes. The sad thing about this is, other than the obvious, it went on for a long time. How did no one know about this? How did no one notice the bruising and cuts on these individuals? How did no one report, even anonymously, the situation? The staff directly involved were fired and have been convicted. What about the other people who knew about it? You can't tell me NO ONE knew about it. Are people really so heartless they could sit back and watch as disabled people are beaten up?
It angers me that our system allows for this kind of behavior to happen. Caring for people with developmental disabilities is not an easy job. It's stressful and trying and usually goes unrewarded by employers. When you pay someone minimum wage to care for people, the "Fight Club" is what happens. Higher ups at State Office came up with "great" plans to fix the problem, but not any of their solutions paid people more money. Not any of their solutions will actually prevent this kind of behavior. Texas is so far behind, it's sick. Why can't we use other states as models and make our system better? I just don't understand.
There's legislation talk that will close Texas State Schools, but they won't. These facilities house around 5,000 people. Where would all of those people go, you ask? They'll go to community homes which are just as bad. It's not our State Schools that are the problem, it's people's thinking. It's our local society that's the problem. What does it take for people to realize the current system is failing, has been failing for a long time, and we're hurting innocent people?
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Ace Pear Cider
Ace is my most favorite alcoholic beverage. Unfortunately, for me, most beer joints don't serve it. It's really good as a Snake Bite, mixed with Guiness. Yesterday I was invited to attend a "goodbye" party for my previous supervisor. He up and retired because, like the rest of us, couldn't take the crap anymore. We met for Happy Hour at the Flying Saucer. I had never been to the Flying Saucer, but I had heard they have every kind of beer you can imagine. I was super excited to drink some Ace. I have been doing well on the No Chips Challenge. I've lost 5 pounds and still going. I'm able to run 3 miles without dying and actually starting to enjoy it. I tried to keep all of this in mind when ordering my Ace. I ended up drinking two big glasses. I dreaded logging those calories into my calorie counter, and for good reason. I had 560 calories of Ace. Good grief! What a waste of calories. I could have had ice cream instead! I did, however, really enjoy my Ace. My total caloric intake for yesterday wasn't too bad, 1625. Went over my goal of 1500 by only 125. Guess I'll be sweating all that out at the gym today. Fun times!
Monday, May 11, 2009
Life IS Good
It's not so nice to have to get up and come to work on Mondays, or any day for that matter, but it's nice when you can look back on your weekend and smile!
We had a great weekend. Bill had to work Saturday morning (yuck) but when he got home we blew up Jake's swimming pool, filled it with water, and hoped for the best. Jake wasn't too sure about it at first, but once Daddy started spraying him with the water hose, he really started having fun with it. Of course, since we have the whitest kid on the planet, we had to lather on lots of sunscreen, which Jake doesn't really care for, but we didn't want a lobster for a child. We've found that Jake really loves to be outside. We ran some errands later in the day and Jake was worn out by 6:00pm.
Sunday morning we got up and went to church. I really enjoyed the service this week and am looking forward to the conclusion next Sunday. We ate Subway for lunch, sticking with the No Chips Challenge, and we let Jake take another swim. Bill cut the grass while Jake and I went shopping, again. Bill grilled fish for dinner and we all played a little more.
I wish we had 5 days of weekend and only 2 days of work rather than it being the other way around. Life is good now, but it would be better that way!
We had a great weekend. Bill had to work Saturday morning (yuck) but when he got home we blew up Jake's swimming pool, filled it with water, and hoped for the best. Jake wasn't too sure about it at first, but once Daddy started spraying him with the water hose, he really started having fun with it. Of course, since we have the whitest kid on the planet, we had to lather on lots of sunscreen, which Jake doesn't really care for, but we didn't want a lobster for a child. We've found that Jake really loves to be outside. We ran some errands later in the day and Jake was worn out by 6:00pm.
Sunday morning we got up and went to church. I really enjoyed the service this week and am looking forward to the conclusion next Sunday. We ate Subway for lunch, sticking with the No Chips Challenge, and we let Jake take another swim. Bill cut the grass while Jake and I went shopping, again. Bill grilled fish for dinner and we all played a little more.
I wish we had 5 days of weekend and only 2 days of work rather than it being the other way around. Life is good now, but it would be better that way!
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
No Chips Challenge
Funny name, I know. Frank and I made a small wager this past weekend. I have to lose 18 pounds and he has to lose 28 pounds by the end of June. After that time we are going to run a 5K together. At the end of June we will have a "weigh in" and whoever has lost more than their above stated pounds will get a whopping $20. Yesterday was the first day and by dinner time I was ready to pull my arm off and eat it. I was starved all day. I managed to only log in 1218 calories yesterday. My goal is to eat no more than 1500 a day.
For the past 4 weeks I have been running at the gym. I've managed to work my way up to a 10 minute mile and am able to run 2.25 miles without stopping. Some days are much harder than others. I really have to push myself and pray that my legs don't fall off.
I feel like I need to blog about the challenge so I can hold myself accountable. I'm really good at talking myself out of going to the gym or talking myself into eating things I know I shouldn't. Things I shouldn't eat: those damn salty chips at Chipotle. Ugh!
So, for the next couple of months I'll be posting about the fun and exciting No Chips Challenge. I'll be pushing myself to lose weight and get back into my old clothes. Wish me luck!
For the past 4 weeks I have been running at the gym. I've managed to work my way up to a 10 minute mile and am able to run 2.25 miles without stopping. Some days are much harder than others. I really have to push myself and pray that my legs don't fall off.
I feel like I need to blog about the challenge so I can hold myself accountable. I'm really good at talking myself out of going to the gym or talking myself into eating things I know I shouldn't. Things I shouldn't eat: those damn salty chips at Chipotle. Ugh!
So, for the next couple of months I'll be posting about the fun and exciting No Chips Challenge. I'll be pushing myself to lose weight and get back into my old clothes. Wish me luck!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)