Saturday, July 20, 2013

I Have Been...(7/20/13)

I have been:

Writing: Lots of assessments and case notes. And not too much else sadly. I should've been writing a Saturday Farmer's Market post for today, but once again I didn't get it up :( Work has been so crazy lately that I just haven't had time to take pictures for the posts. I wake up and have to rush to get to work or squeeze in whatever errands I can before work and by the time I get home from work it's midnight and impossible to take pictures of the garden. It seems like I've been getting a post up for Saturday Farmer's Market every other week these days....maybe I should make it an every OTHER week meme. I need to get back to writing some book reviews too! I have a stack of eight books to review and I would just say screw it, but I actually really want to tell everyone about these books!

Reading: Only two books! My work book has been This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith and it's a really cute little book and I'm thoroughly enjoying it :) My main read right now is Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg and OMG I'm LOVING this book! I just saw the cover of this book while I was browsing and picked it up and I'm so glad I did. I haven't laughed so hard while reading a book in ages, but it's already made me form a very lengthy review in my head and I'm only 50 pages into it. It's about a kid who's been openly gay and accepted by pretty much everyone in his life since he was in 8th grade but he transfers to a different school in his junior year because he's actually sick of being "the gay kid." Just the premise alone gave me all the feels, but the book itself has given me even more. Really loving this one!

Listening: Oh all sorts of things. Audiobook wise, I'm listening to The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins and I'm really really enjoying it, though it's definitely one for a particular crowd. The one thing that bothers me about this book is that Dawkins seems to me to be dismissive of those who have faith. And that bothers me. While I fall more towards the agnostic side of the spectrum, I completely respect people whose beliefs differ from mine..from those who believe in a single all knowing god for instance. And I think that while we can all agree with Dawkins that many evil and atrocious things have been done in the name of religion, it doesn't mean that religion is necessarily inherently evil. Not at all. That it can be a very good thing for some people. But I'll stop writing a review here and wait until I actually finish the book :p Music wise, I've been listening to way too much stuff to write it all here! But the stuff I have on repeat right now is CHVRCHES, Autre Ne Veut, Alunageorge and Jessie Ware....I'm on a bit of an electropop binge right now :p

Watching: Orange is the New Black!!!! OMG I'm obsessed with this series right now and I only have two episodes left and I'm so upset about that :( :( It's Netflix's latest series and it's really really good! I haven't read the book, but I'm really thinking that I need to after watching the series. I actually enjoyed their adaptation of Hemlock Grove, but this has that beat by a landslide. I've also been watching Under the Dome and I haven't read the book and can't compare it to that, but I've been enjoying that a lot too! Ooooh, and Project Runway started again :D :D Yay :D

Looking: Sigh....for a house. Still. I've just come to the conclusion that the right house will come along when it's supposed to. I'm not going to rush things and settle. It'll happen when it happens. I'm looking FORWARD to Sunday because it'll mean the start of my weekend, a massage, and a day spent with my family to celebrate my dad's birthday :)

Learning: The DSM-V. Yeah, that sounds thrilling, doesn't it? :p The DSM is the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. It's how us counselors diagnose people with a mental disorder. And working at the hospital we're REQUIRED to diagnose EVERYONE who we assess with something. Which I've always found completely ridiculous. Literally...if someone comes in just for an assessment because they've had a really rough time lately, for insurance purposes, I have to give them a diagnosis. Well with the new DSM they have completely revamped everything. They've eliminated two of the five axes that we used to use (I know that probably makes no sense to anyone not in the mental health field), and they've made some really horrible changes now in my opinion. For instance...there is no more mental retardation. Now, if you have a developmental delay OR severe mental retardation, it's all the same thing. Which makes no sense to me....it should be differentiated in my opinion. Same with Asperger's/Autism...Two completely different things, but they're all the same now...it's Autism spectrum disorder. And there are tons of other changes similar to this as well. Yeah...basically a pain in the ass and a very expensive book to buy at that :/

Feeling: Stressed out and overworked with a side of migraines. But I'm constantly considering myself a work in progress and I'm teaching myself how to deal with work stress better. Or trying to at least. I've bitched about this too much already so I won't go into it in detail again, but as our lovely governor continues to shut down mental health services in our state, our hospital keeps getting more and more bombarded. We have a very finite number of beds and an infinite number of people trying to get into those beds. I seriously hope that Bobby Jindall NEVER has any kind of national influence. He's truly an evil man. I'm also feeling very lucky though to have some amazing friends and family who are always there for me and who are always so supportive. And I'm feeling thankful that after tomorrow I have two days off :)

Anticipating: Those two days off :p And the massage that I'll be getting on Sunday. And winter. Is it too early to anticipate winter? Have I mentioned how much I hate the heat? Because I fucking hate the heat.

Wishing: That the heat would go away >_> And that mental health services would come back in the state of Louisiana how they should be. And that I had a week long vacation. And that I could take away all of the stress of my very good friends and replace it with nothing but happiness and a pain free existence!

Loving: My family. My friends. All of you. This community. My books. My music. Coffee. A/C. My plants.

8 comments:

Beth F said...

Don't get me started on Dawkins (I have a doctorate in physical anthropology ... and I have issues with him). I just added Orange Is the New Black to my streaming queue. You're the 3rd person to rave about the series. I *think* it's going to start raining again today ... and then it will cool down. (Don't get me started on the screwed up weather either.)

Snowball said...

Dawkins is on my to be read list. Your sentiment is the same one I hear a lot, about all the most vocal atheists. Yes, they can be a bit strident. Myself, I've always been of the "If it comforts you, fine" school, but the real pain and damage caused by believers makes it hard to hold on to that thought. And I nearly choke when I hear hateful, cruel things come out of the mouths of otherwise sweet people.

Saturday, shmaterday. Post when you can. I look forward all your posts, and hope things settle down for you soon.

As for stress, I know I tend toward the bizarre occasionally, but ... A few years ago I was stressing out badly; in school full time and working full time, so there were no daylight hours for gardening. My loving husband set his work lights up on the garden so I could work in it when ever I had a few moments.

He said it had nothing to do with the periodic tearful, screaming meltdowns. Sure. I believe him.

Carole McDonnell said...

Wow, you're good at catching up and giving us a chance to catch up.

Am so sorry about the migraines.

Dawkins is horrible, just horrible. Not only does he dismiss God but he dismisses everything supernatural. And as you may or may not know, I totally believe in supernatural stuff...even fairies and djinns and ghosts. Why put all the supernatural aside?

There are some good Lennox videos out there that are good counters to Dawkins. Tons of stuff on Youtube. Also, William Lane Craig has a great newsletter you could subscribe to...to see how the other side thinks/argues.

Good luck finding a house.

All my love!
-C

Susan said...

Chris, it's just good to hear from you and how you are doing. I keep thinking I will get a Saturday Farmer's Market post done too, and then Saturday slips by.....maybe I'll just post about my garden when I get the pictures ready!

I haven't read the Dawkins book, but have see Black is the New Orange and now I think I want to try watching it since you like it so much! lol We just got Netflix recently and I am watching way too much tv now, catching up on tv series I otherwise don't get to see. Freaks and Geeks I finally got to watch, and just saw that Damages (with Glenn Close) has been added too. Must get back to some reading!!

Take care, and yes, you will find the right house at the right time - it will happen fast, too. Fingers crossed it's soon for you, and that those headaches go away.

DesLily said...

you know how horrible I feel about your headaches :o(... I don't know how you do all that you do!
I hope the massage makes you feel better so you have 2 good days off!

I never realized that we both leaned towards agnostics! and like you I think it's great when belief helps someone, no matter what the belief is!

I saw the pic of the tomato you posted and boy how that makes me want a tomato and lettuce sammie! with Miracle whip!...after all, a sammie isn't a sammie without Miracle Whip! :o) x0x0x0

Vasilly said...

I remember reading that there is a lot of b.s. going on with the latest DSM. The changes you talk about are ridiculous! I feel your pain about Bobby Jindal. I remember when our last governor (The Terminlamer)was in office and he called anyone who needed social services as being low-hanging fruit. Ass. We need progressive leaders who believe in human potential more than votes and reelection. . . *sigh* I hope your migraines go away. I'm still getting mine but thankfully, the frequency has been reduced. Have a good week.

Bookfool said...

I don't have Netflix but I've heard of Orange is the New Black all over the place so I need to look it up. I have no idea what it's about.

I probably also need to get a copy of This is What Happy Looks Like (because I sure don't seem to be able to figure *that* out).

As to the house-shopping: patience, patience. It will pay off in the long run. We looked off and on for over 2 years before we finally found a house that worked for us. Now, sometimes we drive by the some of the houses we considered but then rejected and gush about how glad we are that we waited till the right house came along. It's a pain, though, I know. I really kind of hate house shopping.

I do know the DSM. I've got the DSM-IV. I can't imagine why on earth they'd make those changes. It makes more sense to me to make a very specific diagnosis than a broader one, if only for the sake of making sure the records don't get screwed up and everyone gets the right treatment. And, yeah, so sorry about your governor. I still regret voting for Reagan because of the damage he did to mental health care. He essentially made sure people with severe mental illness had no place to go for full-time care: our homeless problem in a nutshell.

Have you ever looked into renting a house in Gulf Shores or somewhere else along the Coast for a week? I've always thought that would be a great way to de-stress, have a little fun writing (fiction) and clear my mind. Haven't ever really bothered to see what's available, though, and since Katrina the MS Coast is out.

Ooooh, I want coffee, now. :) HUGS!!!!

Carl V. Anderson said...

I've heard some really interesting, and frustrating, things about the new DSM. We've had a few people at work go through training.

It is unfortunate that in order to access various payer sources for help, people have to be labeled with a diagnosis. We have such a hard time getting kids in school the help they need because understandably parents do not want their children dragging around a label.