Silent Saturday
>> Saturday, April 25, 2009
© 2009 Greeneyezz
Photography, Memes & Photo Challenges
>> Saturday, April 18, 2009
That one's just mindless snapshots of my day.
The photoblog I'm talking about is located at the top of my page, in the center linkbar, called "ZZ's Photos'.
As I get more into photography I'll be posting more and more photos there.
For those who may not already be aware, there are many sites out there that offer regular weekly Photography Challenges. These challenges, which are centered around a weekly theme, enables all those interested in this art, whether from the perspective of the photographer or an admirer of beautiful photos, to participate by submitting their own photo and/or voting on the ones they like.
From what I've come across, the talent runs a spectrum of very Novice to very Professional, and all points inbetween. I consider myself most definitely Novice. :)
I've submitted a few along the way. I like the idea of coming up with Creative ways to promote a specific theme, and it gives me a way to not only view some incredible work from others, but also to develop my own ability.
I'm posting this because I recently 'won' a photo Challenge from Unique Exposures. Their theme for that week was 'Wood'. Photos are submitted and then voted on. The top 'winners' are then announced on the Next week's Themed Challenge.
Because I was surprised I would even be considered, I hadn't given it much thought. (Believe me...I've seen some of the Incredible and awe inspiring works of several photographers who enter into these challenges.) Some have left me speechless, as they are definitely Professional Photographers of some sort.
Not all photos I post in my photo blog will be for challenges. You'll notice if I had entered it by the inclusion of that site's 'Avatar' that links to the specific Themed Challenge. I'll also state it's a challenge and will have 'tagged' it as so.
Though I don't always post here, that I've updated my photo blog, I think I may, if I enter into a specific Challenge. If I do enter, I'm encouraging you all to check out the photo I entered, along with the others that have entered the same challenge. If you like mine, please vote for me. If you like someone else's, definitely vote for them. The Challenges are usually only a few days to a full week long, and when it's closed...it's closed.
I've also added a separate list of Photography Challenge sites to my sidebar. You'll notice them just above the regular blog sites.
One last thing. I have entered into another challenge for this week. This one is from Who Do You Love, with the theme "Architecture". Please check it out.
© 2009 Greeneyezz Read more...
ZZ-ology
>> Monday, April 13, 2009
Sahm, from a forum I post to, had included this on my facebook page a while ago. I am just now getting around to doing it and figured if I'm going to put *that* much thought into it, it would go here; not on fb. ;)
Tag- You're it!!! Let other's know a little more about yourself by re-posting and tagging your friends. Re post note as your name "ology".
1) What is your salad dressing of choice?
Balsamic Vinagerette with Crumbly Blue cheese
2) What is your favorite sit-down restaurant?
(fine dining) Antonios, (Semi-Casual) Riley's (Get down & dirty Casual) Dino BBQ
3) What food could you eat for 2 weeks straight and not get sick of it?
Pasta
4) What are your pizza toppings of choice?
Sausage, mushroom, green peppers
5) What do you like to put on your toast?
margarine
6) How many televisions are in your house?
Two, but I only use one, and even then, I barely turn that one on.
7) What color cell phone do you have?
Black
8) Are you right-handed or left-handed?Right Handed
9) Have you ever had anything removed from your body?
No. And I plan to leave this earth with all intact as well.
10) What is the last heavy item you lifted?
Groceries
11) Have you ever been knocked unconscious?
No, though I once became so lightheaded from laughing so hard (lack of oxygen) I almost fainted. Seriously.
12) If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die?
Are you Crazy!!!?? No Way!
13) If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
Brianna. (But then people would call me a kind of cheese for short, and I don't think I'd like that.) Unless of course you pair that with wine. A big ass glass too!
14) Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000?
Add another zero on the end of that & you've got a deal. However, I once ate a whole Jalapeno and ended up tossing my cookies.
all over.
It wasn't pretty.
Believe me.
15) How many pairs of flip flops do you own?
Now that all depends on whether you're talking about with straps or with out.
With a bow or not.
A heel or not.
How many different colors count??
I own Four pairs.
Now if you were talking just shoes?....
I'd be here for a while.
It's only a mild addiction.
I swear. ;)
16) What’s your goal for the year?
Completing a few 5ks and then in October there's a 5 mile run in my neighborhood that I want to do.
In september I'm going back up to the Adirondacks for a week. I'd like to bag another 46'r high peak.
17) Last person you talked to?
Mike, my mechanic.
18) Last person you hugged?
My nephew.
19) Favorite Season?
Autumn, followed by Summer, Spring, and Winter
20) Favorite Holiday?
Christmas and July 4th.
21) Favorite day of the week?
End. ;)
22) Favorite Month?
A toss up between October (Brilliant colors) and June (Summer warmth without intense heat.)
23) First place you went this morning?
The bathroom. ;)~
24) What's the last movie you saw?
Honestly can't remember.
25) Do you smile often?
Yes. But when I'm angry you'll pretty much know that too. ;)
25b) Do you like your laugh?
Yes
26) Do you always answer your phone?
When I'm answering it...yes.
27) It's four in the morning and you get a text message, who is it?
It's Fosterdad, his update on his twitter, something about a damn squirrel that everyone wants to keep as a pet. Ohhh...you mean 'hypothetcally', don'tcha?
28) If you could change your eye color what would it be?
I wouldn't. I like the color of my eyes.
29) What flavor drink do you get at Sonic?
What's a Sonic?
30) Have you ever had a pet fish?
Only the ones that you win at the Fair, that come in little baggies. They never lasted long. :(
31) Favorite Christmas song?
It's from Transiberian Orchestra, called "Old City Bar" and I did a blog post about it with the Youtube video. It always makes me cry. You can read it here.
32) What's on your wish list for your birthday?
Health & happiness
33) Can you do push ups?
Pathetically (I'm keeping this answer from what Sahm put down, as it's applicable.
34) Can you do chin ups?
Even more pathetically. (This one too!) ;)
35) Does the future make you more nervous or excited?
Excited.
36) Do you have any saved texts?
Only ones that I was too lazy to delete.
37) Ever been in a car wreck?
Yes. I hydroplaned on a highway and took down a sign while at it. The double posts of the sign had snapped but left enough sticking out of the ground to open up the bottom of my car like a can opener. My Now exhusband had to drive slower when I was with him when it was raining for a while.
38) Do you have an accent?
Probably only to those who don't live in this area. duh!
39) What is the last song to make you cry?
The song I posted above about the Christmas Song. I listened to it again when searching for it for this Q & A.
40) Plans tonight?
Yes. To get through this damn questionaaire.
41) Have you ever felt like you hit rock bottom?
Yes. When going through my divorce.
It wasn't a picnic.
42) Name 3 things you bought today.
Water, paper, and the story of the guy I was talking to.
43) Have you ever been given roses?
Yes
44) Current hate right now?
Don't know. (I must be getting tired.
45) Met someone who changed your life?
Yes.
I married him.
I divorced him.
46) How did you spend this past New Year?
Quietly.
47) What song represents you?
I'll have to get back to this.
48) Name three people who might complete this?
???
49) What were you doing 12 AM last night?
Not this!
50) What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up?
Not again! ;)
© 2009 Greeneyezz
Busy as a Bee
>> Sunday, April 12, 2009
...And itchy feet.
The past Month or so has been hectic for me. Limited time, a bit stressful and very busy. It's been apparent as I haven't done too much with updating here on what's been going on in my life, much less to make the rounds to the pages of a few people who've become endearing to me over the course of time.
Back in January I started taking a class at Syracuse University, at the recommendation of my director. Three other clinicians besides myself are taking this same class. I was rather excited about this due as part of the perk for me supervision Master Level Interns from SU's School of Social Work, means that the University kicks back to my agency, 3 credit hours, for each Intern we supervise. Nice Perk, huh? Problem with that is that the agency had never allowed me or any of the other clinicians to ever use any of those credits that 'we' actually generated on behalf of the agency. Why? Because The Powers That Be feel that those credits are meant for those who don't have their Bachelor's or Master's degree in anything, and one would have to be Matriculated into a specific degree program. So there goes any Continuing Ed. classes. My director knows that I've been pretty vocal about my displeasure of this, as I've been one of only two clinicians that regularly take on this additional task to be mentor and supervisor here.
Well, she must have listened to me (Thank you!) as she had secured approval to send four clinicians to SU for this class.
It's a PhD level class on Clinical Supervision. It's basically a class, based in Theory and Modalities, of how to supervise other Master Level Therapists. I don't think I mentioned this before but I had recently been promoted and am working into a more supervisory position, so this class will give me actual formal training in this, rather than just move up through the ranks. I currently supervise the Interns coming in through SU, and will be now supervising two master level therapists and one master level case worker.
I'm sure we ALL have had a Supervisor-From-Hell at one time or another, am I right??? If my office walls could talk, they'd surely could tell tales of experiences of my prior Director, for all intents and purposes, should have had her professional license taken from her. That's a story for another time, so before I digress too much, I'd like to have some formal training to prep me for this, as I don't want to end up on any 'Bosses we love to hate' reality shows.
So, while I've been pretty excited about taking this class, I have forgotten how much work it is, to go back to school, after you've been out of school for several years.
10 to be exact.
And going to a 3 hour class after a full day of work, just sucks. It really does.
I just had finished a paper that was due and next week we get a take home Final Exam.
'Take home" final, I hear you say. What could be so hard about that?
I've had this professor 3 times back 10+ years ago. He's been teaching at SU for many years, has his own private practice here in the city, and also contracts out to supervise many other clinicians in this area. Basically, he's pretty well known. He knows his stuff, but tends to be ...way 'out there' theoretically-speaking, so he requires all his exams to be Essay-type that is based rather abstractly.
I am tired of thinking.
Period.
I do this Forty hours a week already, I no longer want to do this (intensely) for another 3-6 hours a week.
How has this affected me?
Back when I was going for my Masters, I was attending school Full Time, working Full Time, and also had to do an Internship 16 hours a week! That didn't leave much time for me and was stressful at times. Back then, I had come down with, what I thought was Athlete's feet. Ewww.. you say. Yup, I said the same thing. I couldn't understand why, I kept my feet clean, etc, etc. I had bought all sorts of sprays and cremes for athletes feet, it would clear up a bit and then get red and itchy again. UGH! I made an appointment with a doctor, who ran some tests and found out that I didn't have Athletes feet, I had Eczema, brought on by....stress. Who knew!
He gave me a prescription strength medication that helped to clear it up.
I graduated.
Two weeks later it disappeared completely, and hadn't ever returned
...Until Last week!
ugh! Actually, my feet just started to itch and hadn't gone full blown yet thankfully. So this has become a huge cue for me. When stress hits, My feet itch. Messed up, huh?
Anyway, I will be done with this class in about 3 weeks, thankfully!
Aside from the school piece, I've also noticed a rather odd trend at work. I had been getting some rather significant high risk and seriously disturbed clients. Chronically disturbed. Not your average garden-variety depression or anxiety. I mean several people suffering from schizophrenia and people with rapid-cycling Bipolar. I couldn't understand why I was getting such a significant amount of high-maintenance people until a fellow coworker clued me in recently. Apparently I, along with just a couple other clinicians there are the only ones qualified and licensed to take Medicare Clients. No big deal right? You think Medicare clients, one typically thinks the elderly, right? Not true. Those who are on SSI are also on Medicare. And to be on SSI for mental health reasons, one has to be chronically and severely impacted by their mental illness to the point where they are unable to consistently work, they may be frequent flyers to the ER or psychiatric hospitals, etc. Therefore, I have a higher percentage of chronically and severely disturbed clients because of Medicare approving me as a treatment provider, than those clinicians who have not yet reached that qualification.
So yes...this has also got me a bit stressed and busy lately.
Combine that with a ton of new clients that they assigned me very recently and I bet your feet would start to itch you too. :)
One piece of good news also, in between all this chaos, I recently (finally) got my R# Status (LCSW-R). I had been qualified for it 4 years ago, but hadn't sent in the necessary documentation for it until recently. Techically speaking, I can now accept all 3rd party payments from Insurance companies, (Private Practice), and am now qualified to supervise all LCSW's working toward their own R#.
Hopefully, I'll be able to breathe easy again soon, cause I need it.
Seriously.
© 2009 Greeneyezz
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