WELL THE DAY HAS ARRIVED and there is no turning back! Summer break is officially over. My first class starts at 10:45 this morning and I am scheduled to finish my second class and leave campus at 4:15 p.m.
I am sure I will get right back in the school groove even if right now that seems like an unlikely statement.
My goals for the day?
1. Treadmill 35 minutes
2. Pack my book bag and a light lunch.
3. Head out the door at 10:20 a.m.
4. Maintain positive attitude.
5. Remind myself that I don't have to figure it all out on the first day.
6. Come home and make dinner with my husband (who is going to be on a local news program this morning at 10 a.m.!)
7. Watch the taped version of husband's interview.
8. Relax.
9. Get things together for tomorrow's classes.
10. Get to bed by 10 p.m.
~Ms. T. J.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Gift from the sea
I SPENT TWO AMAZING DAYS at Hunting Island, S. C., in a beachside cabin where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. visited five decades ago.
A nearby retreat and strategic planning center, Penn Center, drew King Jr. to the area. It was at the Penn Center that members of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference gathered to plan for change.
During the 1960s, the cabin was owned by the Siceloff family, and according to a sister of the current owner, it was a safe place for blacks and whites to meet at that time. Elizabeth and Courtney Siceloff worked with the Fellowship of Southern Churchmen and were assigned to Penn Center from 1950-1969. It was during this time that they built the cabin that now belongs to Constance Curry, a writer, activist and fellow at the Institute for Women's Studies at Emory University in Atlanta.
As if its fascinating history isn't enough, Hunting Island is undergoing erosion problems and the southern portion of the state-owned cabin road has been washed away. On July 14, a resolution was passed by the Beaufort County Safety Committee for the evacuation of the remaining 10 cabins due to the peril of the ocean. The road will not be repaired and therefore the cabins cannot be reached by emergency vehicles or personnel.
While I had a beautiful time and a perfect pre-semester adventure, I am saddened by this inevitable end of an era.
~Ms. T. J.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Packing for the beach
MY DEAR FRIEND ANN invited me to join her for a night and day at her sister's beach house on a nearby island. Could there be a more perfect way to usher in the school year? I can't think of one.
I have to admit I am approaching this trip with a bit of melancholy. I don't want summer break to end. It has been the most time off from grad school that I've had since I began in the spring of 2008.
Don't get me wrong: I enjoy school and I am passionate about the journey.
I'm tired. Plain and simple.
What I know is that everything is working out in just the way it needs to. I will relax into my new schedule just fine.
And once our toes step onto the sand, I will be grateful for the gift my friend is offering. I promise to stay in the moment.
~Ms. T. J.
I have to admit I am approaching this trip with a bit of melancholy. I don't want summer break to end. It has been the most time off from grad school that I've had since I began in the spring of 2008.
Don't get me wrong: I enjoy school and I am passionate about the journey.
I'm tired. Plain and simple.
What I know is that everything is working out in just the way it needs to. I will relax into my new schedule just fine.
And once our toes step onto the sand, I will be grateful for the gift my friend is offering. I promise to stay in the moment.
~Ms. T. J.
Monday, August 10, 2009
On books, parking tickets and other on-campus adventures
IT'S NOT THAT I DREAD going on campus. In fact, I love walking the grounds of this beautiful university. Founded in 1890, the old buildings are blended in with the new, and 100-year-old oak trees draped with Spanish Moss provide a picturesque and shady backdrop for scholarly pursuits.
Going to the bookstore is a necessary function for most students, and while I order a great deal of my books online, I ultimately end up wandering through the stacks of textbooks, notebooks and other supplies each semester to pick up stuff I couldn't find on Amazon, Alibris, etc.
This year we have a new bookseller and so the bookstore looked a bit different in terms of organization. The student workers were very helpful and pleasant. It was the first day for sales, and everyone was fresh and optimistic.
I was the first Title IV-E grant recipient student to appear today so I helped them work out the bugs (my books are paid for via the grant, and the bookstore has a system for this). After three visits to the book store manager, the workers successfully rang up my nearly $600 worth!
I had been extremely lucky (or so I thought) when I snagged a nearby parking place. The spot sat directly in front of a signpost without a sign on it. As a commuter, all of my classes are taught at a satellite location, so I rarely go to campus. Call me naive, but I thought nothing of it as I grabbed my satchel and headed to the bookstore.
After I left the bookstore, I headed to my car. As I loaded my books into the front seat I noticed a ticket flapping in the summer breeze from the windshield wiper. What? Imagine my horror when I lifted it to read that I'd been cited for $75 for parking in a faculty parking place.
All I could think of was "I just quit my job! I can't afford this!" Not exactly "Law of Attraction" or positive thinking, eh?
I decided that I wasn't willing to argue or fight today so I drove around the traffic circle three times, and asked two different campus security officers where I could park to go pay my parking ticket (to avoid getting another ticket)!
Once inside the building that houses the Cashier's Office, I stood in line with lots of other students. I arrived at the window, and after fumbling around for the ticket (I'd absentmindedly stuck it into the pocket of my sundress), I said to the women behind the glass, "I guess I don't really want to pay for this ticket!"
Her face registered the same expression I'd had when I first saw the amount.
"Do you want to fight this?" she asked.
"How can I do that?" I asked.
"Go to the Campus Police Department," she answered.
"Do you think it will help?"
"It's worth a try," she said. "Seventy-five dollars is a lot of money. And, if you have to come back here, you won't have to stand in line."
I took the kind woman's advice and drove around the traffic circle three more times until I found a parking lot that allowed commuter parking. Once inside the campus police station, I was greeted by a man who, after hearing my tale of woe, wrote off the ticket and told me to be mindful as they might have towed my car from that spot.
I promised him that I would never park there again. And, I thanked him profusely. I'd have had a lot of explaining to do to my husband!
~Ms. T. J.
Going to the bookstore is a necessary function for most students, and while I order a great deal of my books online, I ultimately end up wandering through the stacks of textbooks, notebooks and other supplies each semester to pick up stuff I couldn't find on Amazon, Alibris, etc.
This year we have a new bookseller and so the bookstore looked a bit different in terms of organization. The student workers were very helpful and pleasant. It was the first day for sales, and everyone was fresh and optimistic.
I was the first Title IV-E grant recipient student to appear today so I helped them work out the bugs (my books are paid for via the grant, and the bookstore has a system for this). After three visits to the book store manager, the workers successfully rang up my nearly $600 worth!
I had been extremely lucky (or so I thought) when I snagged a nearby parking place. The spot sat directly in front of a signpost without a sign on it. As a commuter, all of my classes are taught at a satellite location, so I rarely go to campus. Call me naive, but I thought nothing of it as I grabbed my satchel and headed to the bookstore.
After I left the bookstore, I headed to my car. As I loaded my books into the front seat I noticed a ticket flapping in the summer breeze from the windshield wiper. What? Imagine my horror when I lifted it to read that I'd been cited for $75 for parking in a faculty parking place.
All I could think of was "I just quit my job! I can't afford this!" Not exactly "Law of Attraction" or positive thinking, eh?
I decided that I wasn't willing to argue or fight today so I drove around the traffic circle three times, and asked two different campus security officers where I could park to go pay my parking ticket (to avoid getting another ticket)!
Once inside the building that houses the Cashier's Office, I stood in line with lots of other students. I arrived at the window, and after fumbling around for the ticket (I'd absentmindedly stuck it into the pocket of my sundress), I said to the women behind the glass, "I guess I don't really want to pay for this ticket!"
Her face registered the same expression I'd had when I first saw the amount.
"Do you want to fight this?" she asked.
"How can I do that?" I asked.
"Go to the Campus Police Department," she answered.
"Do you think it will help?"
"It's worth a try," she said. "Seventy-five dollars is a lot of money. And, if you have to come back here, you won't have to stand in line."
I took the kind woman's advice and drove around the traffic circle three more times until I found a parking lot that allowed commuter parking. Once inside the campus police station, I was greeted by a man who, after hearing my tale of woe, wrote off the ticket and told me to be mindful as they might have towed my car from that spot.
I promised him that I would never park there again. And, I thanked him profusely. I'd have had a lot of explaining to do to my husband!
~Ms. T. J.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Lollygagging
SINCE FINDING BALANCE is imperative this upcoming semester, I am determined to add exercise to the mix of school and field practice. Two of my favorite friends, April Joy and Guin, and me have dubbed ourselves "The Lollygaggers" and we head out on our bicycles on Sunday mornings. We generally ride 10-20 miles through the streets and parks of our beautiful Georgia city.
This morning we started from my house and rode past campus (I live close to my school). Then we pointed our handlebars toward our beautiful and somewhat famous cemetery. April Joy is a long-time resident of this city (unlike Guin and I who are transplants), and she has relatives buried in the picturesque place. As we rode up and down the dirt roads looking at elaborate statues and grave markers, I felt happy to be out and about on such a glorious summer morning.
I am grateful for the ability to quit my job and concentrate on school for the next two semesters. While I was able to cram everything in, I was starting to feel really overwhelmed. It's only in the last couple of weeks that I feel somewhat "normal" again, and I have been out of summer school since early July.
This week I plan to buy the rest of my books and prepare my desk for school. I also plan to take a day trip to a nearby island with a friend.
As for this afternoon? I think a long nap and some down time is in order!
~Ms. T. J.
This morning we started from my house and rode past campus (I live close to my school). Then we pointed our handlebars toward our beautiful and somewhat famous cemetery. April Joy is a long-time resident of this city (unlike Guin and I who are transplants), and she has relatives buried in the picturesque place. As we rode up and down the dirt roads looking at elaborate statues and grave markers, I felt happy to be out and about on such a glorious summer morning.
I am grateful for the ability to quit my job and concentrate on school for the next two semesters. While I was able to cram everything in, I was starting to feel really overwhelmed. It's only in the last couple of weeks that I feel somewhat "normal" again, and I have been out of summer school since early July.
This week I plan to buy the rest of my books and prepare my desk for school. I also plan to take a day trip to a nearby island with a friend.
As for this afternoon? I think a long nap and some down time is in order!
~Ms. T. J.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
T. J. and Julia
MY HUSBAND, A FOOD AND WINE WRITER, and I, a writer, tag-along foodie, and social-worker-in-training, went to see "Julie and Julia" this afternoon.
In addition to enjoying the movie a lot, I was inspired. To cook, to bake, and to have more dinner parties.
And mostly to blog. Here. Regularly. Daily.
Now that I've quit my job (ironically my former editor was at the movie, too!), I will dedicate my time to all things social work-related. Now that I won't be writing and editing for a living, I will be freed up to write and edit on the side.
In a week I will begin my 2nd internship -- this one at the Department of Family and Children Services. This will be a brand-new life experience for me, and I want to share it with you, my fellow social work students and and professionals. Of course, I will honor the laws of confidentiality and concentrate on my experiences.
My hope, as always, is to share that I may help another. My other hope is that you, too, will share with me. Your experience. Your dreams. Your strengths. Your fears. Your joys.
I can't wait!
~Ms. T. J.
In addition to enjoying the movie a lot, I was inspired. To cook, to bake, and to have more dinner parties.
And mostly to blog. Here. Regularly. Daily.
Now that I've quit my job (ironically my former editor was at the movie, too!), I will dedicate my time to all things social work-related. Now that I won't be writing and editing for a living, I will be freed up to write and edit on the side.
In a week I will begin my 2nd internship -- this one at the Department of Family and Children Services. This will be a brand-new life experience for me, and I want to share it with you, my fellow social work students and and professionals. Of course, I will honor the laws of confidentiality and concentrate on my experiences.
My hope, as always, is to share that I may help another. My other hope is that you, too, will share with me. Your experience. Your dreams. Your strengths. Your fears. Your joys.
I can't wait!
~Ms. T. J.
Tech-Savvy Social Work
This article appearing in July/August 2009 Social Work Today (vol. 9, #4, p. 12) provides a nice, broad overview of some of the workplace issues social workers may face with technology. From the article:
"Using technology is not new in social work. But the great speed at which new technologies are popping up has set off debate among human services professionals about what role technology should play in their work. A growing number of social service and behavioral health organizations are turning to technology to tackle tasks such as data management, client tracking, and outcomes measurement."
Hat tip to The Work of Social Technology for the article!
"Using technology is not new in social work. But the great speed at which new technologies are popping up has set off debate among human services professionals about what role technology should play in their work. A growing number of social service and behavioral health organizations are turning to technology to tackle tasks such as data management, client tracking, and outcomes measurement."
Hat tip to The Work of Social Technology for the article!
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