Holy poop, I'm crapped!!Yesterday was a looooooooooooooooooong day. I picked Kelly up around 7:15am or so, and then we headed for the great city of brotherly love. I had an appointment with my doctor at 11:30. I was there on time, but she only gave me 20-25 minutes. I was ripped off, but at least I had a reason to take off from work, right? Next day in Philly should be the 7th of July, also for the appointment. I tried to get the direction to Delisandro's from someone, but never got a call back... so no award winning chicken cheesesteak for me, nor a regular steak with cheese. =( We opted for Chestnut hill instead. It was a bright sunny (aka- hot!) day out, but it was still nice to walk around, be with a friend, and just have a nice early afternoon. We grabbed a quick lunch at a small restaurant there after we hit Borders. I LOVE THAT STORE!! Proving once again what I already knew- I AM A LEATHER WHORE.... who reads a lot!! (Borders is a book store for those that are unfamiliar). I didn't buy anything, but boy did I want to!! It's cool though, I will make up for it as soon as I am done writing this. Hellooooooooooooooo online bookstoresssssss! HAH! Anywho, I showed her a smattering of La Salle while we were there. Afterwards, we headed into center city. We went to Independence Mall, but both the hall and the bell were already closed. So, we wandered around a bit and then chilled in a small park a few feet feet adjacent to the hall, right on 5th street. We sat there a little while talking, enjoying the weather, resting our feet, and thinking how cute the little birdies were. =)We went back to the parking garage, and after battling it out with some traffic, ended up on 1st and south. A few more turns, and we found a parking garage. Then we headed into a coffee house, così. It's like a starbucks, xando, but with a little more pizazz and a lot more alcohol. heh heh. Walking onto south street, I was asked if I wanted to be on tv. I probably would have done it if I was not sweating like a mo fo and didn't have a very obvious pimple. =( I told him I would see him on the way back, but he wasn't there then. Blah! It's for a new tv network called "Joke Tv". The guy said it was a completely new channel, blah blah, kinda like comedy central, blah blah. So, being that I didn't go on it, it should succeed and everyone participating in those early days will be ridiculously famous. Death to them all!!South street was an experience, like always. Some shops had closed, some had opened, the regular evolution of an urban street over the course of a year. We drove through society hill and olde city the most, then headed out to city line and my favorite bar. I won't mention the name because I don't know what sort of people are reading this- and if I saw anyone I knew there, it wouldn't be the unspoiled treasure it is now. =)After that we headed to the 24 hour drive through Taco Bell/Pizza Hut and got some grub. We drove home after that, I got in bed a little after 5am. Uhg. There's more to it, obviously, than that stated above, but who wants to hear of every nook and cranny of the human experience? Not me if I'm the one that has to type it!Overall, I had fun, although several tentative plans remain just that. We had planned to stay over, do up Atlantic City, get a lot more accomplished in general, but it was still good all around. I slept until almost 8pm this evening, its about 10 right now and I'm watching Good Will Hunting and reading the book entitled Trauma and Recovery: the aftermath of violence- from domestic abuse to political terror. Call me crazy, but I devour this stuff!

An interventionToday was interesting. It started out normal enough... but then when I got to work.. the entire parking lot (at least 50 spaces) was empty. I was surprised, I didn't know what to do. It looked as though it was open, it isn't supposed to close... my mind was really racing. Luckily one of the supervisors in the dual-diagnosis unit came by and told me that they were cleaning out the parking lot with some heavy machinery and everyone was in the muddy hole back parking lot. Well, I left it my car sitting there even though somehow no one ever told me that they were cleaning it out and planning on returning. Screw that! No one told ME!! Plus, I got the best parking spot... HAH!Come 1 O'Clock I was in the Family Therapy Training. Oddly enough they focused on intervention skills. They didn't tell me anything I didn't know already- except that the Recovery Center offers them for free. My supervisor thinks I remind her of her daughter, and since she played the client/alcoholic/addict, of course, I had to play her daughter. It was difficult for me because I know nothing about this girl, age, personality, nothing. I was told she was the "hero" in the family (theres a theory that says that the alcoholic family has the 1) alcoholic, 2) enabler/co-dependent, 3) scapegoat, and if there are more kids, the 4) hero, the 5) mascot, and 6) the lost child. Actually, this model applies to all dysfunctional families. I used to be the lost child, now I am the mascot. Anyone who knows anything about this theory now knows a lot about me, maybe YOU should look it up!) Anywho.. I'm the mascot trying to play the hero, it didn't work. Well, my supervisor had some major counter-transferance going on because she ended up crying she was moved so greatly. Now, if all of that is garbledegook, know this: I was in a mock intervention, and it was an experience. It was difficult with just me and the other actors/collegues. If done right, that could win over the most angry, defensive person. The trick is the concern, the love. Of course, sometimes it will never go right... but damn, there was a lot of power in that. I felt like we were ganging up on the alcoholic in that scenerio- but thats basically what WAS occuring, all of that pressure is needed so that the person gets some help, if not for them, then for the kids.. or whatever the reason. So whats the moral of the story? If you know someone that is an addict or alcoholic, seriously think about an intervention. It may be the best thing you've ever done, and probably the hardest.

Here is a quote I found that I love... it's perfect. It's my life. I've always just marched to my own drummer."Those who dance are considered insane by those who cannot hear the music". - George Carlin

After much convincing of self, I have decided to place a blog online. I understand that no one may read it, but really, when has the lack of an audience forced me into silence? HAH! Who knows, maybe I will learn a little something about myself... or at least bore some unfortunate readers- either way, writing is cathartic and I'm all about relief! Nothing thrilling happened today or yesterday for that matter. Friday I came home from work and was completely out by 6pm. What a week! I slept until noon on Saturday. I went out with Kelly to O'Farrell's at night. Patrick met us there after he got back from the city. Time went by pretty fast- 2 or 3 molings, a shot of jagermeister, and I was headed home. By the way, I hate black licorace, really really hate it, and I dealt very well with the jager shot. Good thing I still had some beer to chase it down with! I slept in Sunday in effort to keep with the (my) status quo. I missed church by accident and heard it from my mother. Now it's Monday, Memorial Day. I have finally begin my 6 casac hours for "Treating adolescents with substance use disorders." For those of you who do not know, a CASAC is a Credentialed Alcohol and other Substance Abuse Counselor. I work with adolescents that are ~12 to 18 years of age who have ended up in rehab by force or choice. Yes, most of them are mandated there, but surprisingly, quite a few of them end up getting something out of it. I run the Adolescent of Alcoholics/Addicts group (AOA), the Children of Alcoholics/Addicts group (COA), and co-facilitate the Sober Teen Out-Patient Services groups on Monday and Wednesday and Multi-Family session on Thursday evenings. On top of that, I help out in the day treatment program, DATA, due to the personnel shortage. What can I say? I'm a saint!! During DATA, I run Anger Management groups/lessons and try not to strangle them. The clients are great, but sometimes I wish to not only kill them, but thoroughly enjoy every second. I am thankful to have a job I enjoy so much with collegues that are so knowledgeable and helpful. Too bad I don't make more money!! Random thought:I would really like to date the hot carpenter on trading spaces, rarrr.