Christmas time!!!

Around Christmas time I try to focus some of my energy towards helping others. In the past couple of years I've volunteered to gift wrap for Canuck Place at Oakridge mall. That was fun... especially dealing with the procrastinators :) Money doesn't seem to be a problem with them and will throw any sum at you as long as you can wrap quickly and make it look good. It was also fun to joke around with the guys and ask them if they wanted me to make it look like they wrapped it themselves. It's definitely a fun environment to work in.
This year I've changed my focus. With my new found interest with addiction and substance abuse, I thought it would be kind of nice to do something for those who will be staying at OnSite during Christmas time. I suggested this to the coordinator at OnSite and she gave me the green light!
So here's what I am going to do! I am going to get a Christmas tree (a fresh one so it will smell nice) and some decorations and we're going to give them a beautiful Chirstmas tree! On Christmas eve day (or Christmas day... depending on whether I am going to Bellingham or not on the 25th) I am going to go delivery presents and fresh baked goods! Yeah, I think that would make for a pretty good Christmas.
So here's where I need your help!
For the gifts, I am collecting men and women's clothing that are new or used (but looks relatively new), tuques, scarves, gloves, mittens, books. If you do not have any clothing or books to give, you can also donate money. This money will be used to buy more tuques, scarves, gloves... etc. Also if people would like to come over on the 23rd after I am finished school (6pm) and bake along to some Christmas tunes... they're more then welcome to come and help! Oh! If someone has a tree stand that they want to give away... we'll take it!
If you want to help, leave a comment and I will contact you. You can also e-mail me at aussiejanelle@hotmail.com. With every one's help we can make quite a few people very happy this Christmas! I will keep blogging about this as I make progress.

*I've already received one donation! That's $20 towards the OnSite Christmas! Thank you :)

Bittersweet

With my passion with cooking, you'd think this entry would be about chocolate... but it's not. It's about something that happened yesterday at OnSite. I'd been treating this client for 6 or 7 weeks now and we've made remarkable progress together. They've also done a great job at taking care of themselves and seem to be taking a really positive path. I've known for a couple of weeks now that this particular client would be moving on to something else and I was excited for them.
Yesterday at OnSite was awesome (as it always is). I wasn't meant to go back but Andrea and I switched shifts... so she will be at George Pearson and I will stay at OnSite! We didn't think the Dean would agree to this but he did and it's made us both very very happy! Anyways I was tremendously grateful to be at OnSite and doing the work that I was doing. It touched me deeply and I think that may have been why I was extra sensitive. Either that or the lack of sleep... or a combination of both.
Well I saw this client for the last time and I asked them how they were doing. They expressed that they were feeling anxious and a bit nervous about their departure. I totally understood and I wanted to give them a hug. But of course, with boundaries and stuff, I didn't. I gave the best grounding massage that I could give yet still was kind of upset that it would be my last treatment with this client.
I spoke about this to an other health care professional and they told me to focus on the positive. That this individual is getting better and has made huge changes in their life. I like looking at it that way, however, I also really enjoyed working with that client.
I'll get over it. I know. I've had to part with other clients that have moved on (at Aurora and other outreaches) and I was fine. It's just always hard. I am not too sure if this gets easier... I don't know if I want it to get easier. I think it shows that I am human and I care. When we get numb to parting with someone that you've worked with then I feel that it makes you a little bit less of a compassionate therapist. And that's what I want to be.

On the verge

of tears and wanting to hermit all day. Again... just one of those days. I am really liking that "these days" are coming around less and less often but it still sucks when they do. Yesterday I spent the day at the verge of tears. I just figured I was tired. Today, with plenty of sleep, I just want to hide in my room and sleep. I have a mid quarter today which I haven't studied for. I am sending it out to the universe that our teacher is sick and postpones the mid quarter. After all she didn't show up for work yesterday.

Text messages that make me smile...

"Hey darling! how was your day? I did get to play with fishes today. Lots of fish sex ;) love you."

Yes Justin has a very interesting job... today he got to help fish make babies at a fish farm. It doesn't sound as romantic as it's cracked up to be but it sure makes for interesting days at work!

Bed...

I can't remember when the last time was that I stayed up this late... I can't form sentences or a thought. My mind is mush and I want to go to bed. But before I do, I wanted to blog to remind myself NOT TO PROCRASTINATE!
What I thought was a book report that may take one to two hours to complete ended up taking me 10! Ok so I hadn't written a book report since grade 7 and apparently a lot has changed since then. In the end I am happy with what I put together. I am also really happy (and thankful) that Dasha has the patience to spend an hour and a half with me correcting the damn thing. She would laugh when I used terms as "feelings ballooned" or "renders a normal functioning individual into a mere empty husk". So my book reports are colourful! it makes it more interesting then the regular blah blah blah of intelligent linearly minded people.
Ok bed now! Awake way too early to study for Wednesdays mid quarter.

Good Idea... Bad Idea...

Good Idea: Saving Money.
Bad Idea: Eating salmon/rice dinner that was made last Thursday even though it smelt fishy and possibly bad when there are two assignments and one mid quarter to study for.

Now I feel like my insides are trying to make their way outside... and I have to work on those two assignments AND study for a hand full of mid quarters/quizzes. Winter break is a month away... but even that isn't worth counting down because we have a mid term on the 23rd of December. Our winter break is also our study break and we have a week of class before finals on the 2nd week of January.

On the up side, the rest of level 500 will FLY by and I will be in level 600 very soon! Hooray! :)

Lost cell phone

This morning I was rushing around trying to find my darn cell phone. After about 15 minutes I decided to go to school without it. It's not that I would miss any important phone calls or anything like this. What made me upset was knowing that I would have to go the day without text messages from Justin. A couple words from him can get me through the day and it's become important to me. It just struck me this morning that I was fussing so much just to get those couple of text messages :)