My Very Own Unabomber & More

This weekend was quite eventful, to put it mildly (I have got to get more going on to talk about about besides this stupid job & my depression).

Saturday: Things started off relatively calm. Some clients apparently told my weekend supervisor that I gave them a phone when it had gotten taken away from them (I didn't) so she confronted me but I plead my innocence (either way I didn't care). One of the new guys decided it would be a splendid idea to slide down the damn stair railing, causing me to almost have a heart attack.

Some of the younger clients who I've gotten along with very well (including Frankenstein, the head-injury from last week) were acting weird & not listening (that wasn't weird). One of them asked me "hypothetically" what would happen if someone were to leave the site for about an hour. And they were just acting like they were planning something. Well, while my partner & I were watching a TV show on my laptop around 2:30am, I happened to see at least 2 guys crouching below the bushes outside our office.

Damn it.

My partner & I went out the front, but they had already gone back up to the 2nd level where they belonged. We did checks & ultimately they confessed to me that they were "trying to scare" us, which is utter bullshit.

Also, Friday there was what sounded like an explosion, but we figured it was something off-site. Turns out it wasn't. A younger client who I have a good relationship with told me Saturday night that yet another younger client (who I didn't know well but never gave me problems & I actually liked quite a bit) had gotten some steaks from his mom & made a mini-bomb with that, water, & a bottle, & threw it into the pool area. I was told this because the 1st guy didn't like the Unabomber, as we affectionately referred to him. My partner & I went looking for it, & found the half-exploded bottle in the garbage. Damn.

Sunday: Most of the excitement happened on Friday & Saturday, but the clients would not go to bed! Stubborn douches.

Ultimately the Unabomber got kicked out, & while I know he totally did it to himself, I still feel bad for playing a part in it. When I left Monday morning I said goodbye to him (having conveniently gotten to know him better this weekend) knowing that it was probably what was going to happen (he had no idea we knew) & he said, "Hopefully I'll see you next weekend!" I was just like, "Hopefully..." The clincher was that the guy who ratted him out? Was standing right there talking to him, too. Two-faced bastards.

Three Random Things

1. As I was driving to work yesterday, I had to stop & get gas. This white van pulled up & a guy jumped out & shook my hand. He then began to try to sell me some wireless satellite thing. I told him I didn't have time, needing to go to work. He kept going on. I told him I wasn't interested. He kept going on. I AGAIN told him I needed to get to work. He kept going on. I told him I didn't have the money. He told me they'd drive me (!) to an ATM (!!) & I could get the money. I then combined that I needed to get to work & wasn't interested.

Then he & his friend got pissed. They kind of yelled at me, & the main guy told me I'd never get a girl if I didn't have this piece of equipment. I shrugged my shoulders & told him, "Such is life."

Seriously though. How much does our world suck where people would say something like that? A piece of property shouldn't factor in whether we find a mate or an easy lay. And more than likely, that particular electronic device wouldn't, because it was kind of dumb.

And yeah, I definitely thought I was going to get abducted, which is whatever. That would just be such a stupid way to go.

2. Last night at the A.A. meeting I took the clients to, I was sitting outside reading a textbook. This guy came up & told me his brother was the author of the book. He then said that his other brother was the reason he didn't have any teeth up front, after a hockey lesson as a child. And how he works as a consultant. And how he is manic depressive but doesn't take medication. And how he is related to the Kennedy family. I told him I needed to go inside because I was getting eaten by mosquito's.

I would also like to add that he had a mullet (of course), was incredibly dirty (he shook my hand. Twice), & one shoe was of the tennis variety, while the other was a Croc.

3. When I took that client to the hospital Wednesday, I passed these black girls who started hollering at me. I laughed & shrugged them off. I passed them again on the way out & they said that I looked like Edward Cullen.

Clearly, we look nothing alike. Sometimes my hair looks like his (I was doing that before the movie came out) but that's the extent of it. And I was wearing a ratty shirt & sweatpants.

Idiots.

P.S. I could have just used one picture to prove my point, but I love uploading.

Friday

Friday I worked my normal shift of 4pm-midnight. Homeboy who was coming off of heroin was doing worse, not being able to keep anything down. At one point, all 3 of my coworkers for the shift were off-site, meaning that of course this guy was going to take a turn for the worse. I took his blood pressure & it was 131/95 & his pulse was 55, which was weird. I called one of my co-workers, who tried to get in touch with the detox nurse (who sucks) & couldn't, so she called Love Chunks. Love Chunks decided that he needed to go the hospital, which was a problem because I couldn't leave the site with the other clients there by themselves. Luckily 2 of my coworkers came back & he got the hospital.

I also did a drug test on a new client, did an intake, & really took charge of shit.

I've heard rumblings that there will be a lot of changes coming up, like Love Chunks being fired, other people being fired, shifts being rearranged, a new location opening up, my Saturday/Sunday night partner being asked to pick someone to be her partner for later (she picked me). It's all weird. I want to quit so bad but I just have to hold on & see what happens. Maybe I will be able to get better shifts that are more conducive to trying to make friends & having a social life.

Thursday

On Thursday the lady I was working with & I were mondo pissed because we were told by Love Chunks to clean an empty apartment, despite the fact that they had 2 days previously to clean it, & the cleaning lady (who also works as a C.A.) was just there, & the last shift featured two male C.A.'s in said apartment watching the Lakers/Celtics game.

So my partner for the night (I'm such a slut) & I start cleaning. We also have to keep an eye on a new client who was detoxing off of heroin. We were told to check his blood pressure every hour, which I did first. When it was time for his second round, my partner did it & inadvertently said something to make him mad, causing him to rip the cuff off his arm & throw it on the ground (I didn't see this. I was in the apartment cleaning). He also kept mumbling. So we called Love Chunks who told us to just check on him & make sure he was breathing throughout the night.

And that was the shift that sent me into overtime this week. Holla!

Wednesday

I was asked to fill in for a co-worker this week since I would get overtime & I'm nothing if not money-hungry. Of course, this happened to be overnight shifts, but once I worked them they weren't that bad. In fact, if I could JUST work the midnight-8am shift, I would be perfectly content.

On Wednesday (shift 1) I had to take a client to the hospital. We have referral sheets that they have to give the receptionist saying they can't be given narcotics because they're in rehab. I dropped him off, parked, & went in to make sure he was ok. Things didn't seem right so after he got called back into triage I asked the receptionist if he gave her the referral sheet. Which she said he didn't. Great.

4 1/2 hours pass & I haven't heard jack from him so I went back to the hospital to check. The ER doesn't know where he is. Shit. I start to panic & call Love Chunks, who tells me to double check with them if he could be anywhere. I figured with HIPAA laws they couldn't tell me, but apparently since I work at a rehab I'm privy to such information. I remembered that I had his face-sheet (a sheet with his basic info that would allow the nurses to search for him in the computer system) so they were quickly able to find him. It wasn't visiting hours so I got the hospital phone number, his bed number, & called his nurse to give him the message that we knew he was there.

And I was told I did a good job by Love Chunks. Holla!

I Used To Be Stupid

I had a submission I...submitted to IUsedToBeStupid.com. Give it a looksee, k?

I will post more stories like this later. I have quite a few.

Head Banger

Around 2am this morning a client who I had already told to go to his apartment was leaning back in his chair (after I had told him to stop numerous times) & fell & hit his head. Another client was out there with him & got my partner & myself. Our weekend supervisor told my partner to take him to the hospital & to leave me behind, so I was blessed with the opportunity to clean up the blood. It wasn't that bad, but still...I don't know how they expect me to get better at this job when they won't let me do anything. Up until I demanded to pick him up, I hadn't been to the hospital. I don't know where any of the locations that we're supposed to take them are. And I'm waiting for the shit to hit the fan because they were up so late even though I had told them to go inside.

On a good note, the client is fine. He had to get 5 staples in the back of his head, but otherwise was good. He was even joking about how stupid he was after it happened.