Surprise!

I couldn't write this last night because I'd already shut down the computer for the night, but I did indeed get a visitor last night. smithee not only searched through old journal entries to find out where I lived, but showed up with a box of old smurfs from his childhood! So we goofed off for a little bit, but since I was in bed when he knocked, I kicked him out fairly early so I could get back to it.

He even had the one smurf I REALLY wanted, the knight smurf:



And so, YES, of course he claimed his prize. :)

However did I sleep last night after smooching the naked dude?

So I survived the second day at my new job, and it was pretty informative. I spent the morning at something called Appeals Committee which is when people who have been barred from services or kicked out get to appeal their decisions. It went on forever and ever but I learned a lot of things from the people who have worked with the homeless population for a long time. After that I ate a quick lunch and went to a discussion group for women which was okay. The person who was training me leads groups very differently than I do, which is fine, but I miss Bill from Children's! (I also miss the clout I had at Children's - I had the power to diagnose there.) I observed the Housing Resource Specialist who was having a conversation with a resident about being "Saved" and that left a sour taste in my mouth. I didn't think anyone was supposed to discuss any particular religious orientation. I think if I ever hear a staff member proselytizing to a resident, I will ask my supervisor about it. I then spent the rest of the afternoon with the dude I'm replacing, and he seemed like a pretty nice guy. He is in school for his MSW which makes me wonder if my job is really an MSW sort of job, but I know that one of the other case managers (at least one) also has her MSW. Still, I think it is a beneficial experience. When my supervisor comes back, though, I need to ask about supervision hours toward my LISW.

Tonight I went to Steve's to watch I Am Sam. It was a really amazing movie and you should all watch it. It's funny, though - I had no problem dealing with all of the sad parts, but I found myself getting emotional during all of the good, touching father-daughter scenes. I'm sure the bittersweet tumultuous relationship I had with my father growing up has a lot to do with that. I've noticed since high school that I get choked up at dad-kid things. *shrug*

Steve and I had an interesting discussion over dinner at the Drexel Radio Cafe. He said that since I often fret about being the token in my group of friends, he was surprised that I would take employment where I was the token in the work place. It's true that I am very different from the other people at Faith Mission, but in some ways, I think it can be a very good thing. I am comfortable enough with who I am that I don't mind being singled out at work. I think that some great benefits can be derived from my being willing to make myself known at work, especially as an out, queer individual. I would hope that the workplace would support my making it clear that my office is a safe place to talk about those issues. I think I will need to find something that I can hang up or display to make that known. I'll add that to the list of things to talk to Tammy about when she comes in on Monday.

Which reminds me - they gave me about 12 keys and I think sometime tomorrow I should actually find and label which doors they go to. Ugh. I hate things like that.