Recently, I went to the school and backed up everything on my student account that I want to keep, since it will be shut down as of Tuesday. I also bought a city bus pass for September, the first one I've purchased in literally a year. My last pass was dated August 2014. On the September pass, there is a picture of an apple to represent the month, which I took to signify the supposed tradition of students giving apples to teachers as a show of gratitude (never actually saw it happen...). It appears that even though I got an Adult bus pass, the association of my birth month and the beginning of school will always be a thing...
I updated ,my resume recently. Since I'm gainfully employed, I don't expect to use it anytime soon, but I hadn't updated it since becoming an Independent Facilitator and Direct Support Worker, or since my second go as a Summer Program Leader, since my stint at Healing of the 7 Generations, or since graduating. I just did it for my own self-esteem, and it was really gratifying to be able to make all those changes at once. I sent in an application to the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers. Provided nothing unexpected happen, I should soon be able to legally refer to myself as Gryphon Sibbald, RSSW.
I also finally created a LinkedIn account, which is like a social networking site, but focusing on professional stuff.
Check it out, I have a bio on the Facile website (I'm third from the top): http://facilewaterlooregion.ca/who-we-are/our-staff/
Three more of my sunflowers blossomed. That's five out of seven, now. The other two have two days before I move, although since one of my friends will be living here, he's offered to oversee my garden and allow me access to it, so I don't feel so much like I'm abandoning it.
Saturday, August 29, 2015
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
End of Summer Program
Today was the last day of Summer Program. During the evaluation week, we wrote our perspectives on the summer, we discussed it in-depth with the program coordinators, we got our personal assessments, we compiled data from participant evaluation sheets, we made house calls to get feedback on participant experiences during the overnight, we sorted through photos taken throughout the summer, we designed a collage from participant art based on their overnight experience, we picked up clay art that had been made during Wacky Water Week but took time to finish, and we cleaned the accessible van.
We all got a special lunch ordered in for us this week. We gave a gift to our supervisor, and each of us received a framed sheet with a collection of praise given to us by our coworkers.
I feel like I'm finally "psychologically graduating". After I graduated I kept living in student housing, I went back to my old student job, I kept using my student bus pass, and I kept going to the school to use their printer.
But now my student job is ending, I'm moving out of student housing, my student bus pass is expiring, and my student account will be shut down, so I can't use the printer. When I graduated, it felt like summer vacation. But now summer vacation is ending, and I won't be going back to school/
I had a Facile meeting tonight, and I was getting a ride from my Facile mentor. Right after I said my goodbyes and left the building, she had just arrived and was ready to take me to my meeting. It was exactly like leaving my old life behind and being carried directly into my new.
We all got a special lunch ordered in for us this week. We gave a gift to our supervisor, and each of us received a framed sheet with a collection of praise given to us by our coworkers.
I feel like I'm finally "psychologically graduating". After I graduated I kept living in student housing, I went back to my old student job, I kept using my student bus pass, and I kept going to the school to use their printer.
But now my student job is ending, I'm moving out of student housing, my student bus pass is expiring, and my student account will be shut down, so I can't use the printer. When I graduated, it felt like summer vacation. But now summer vacation is ending, and I won't be going back to school/
I had a Facile meeting tonight, and I was getting a ride from my Facile mentor. Right after I said my goodbyes and left the building, she had just arrived and was ready to take me to my meeting. It was exactly like leaving my old life behind and being carried directly into my new.
Sunday, August 23, 2015
Impeesa and Kimbercote
Sorry it's been so long guys! I just finished two weeks of overnight camp, in which I couldn't update because I was gone 24/7. I was home during the weekends but my computer is (mostly) broken, and since I have two other jobs, I just didn't have time to access something to update the blog.
First week of overnight we stayed at Camp Impeesa. I went there last year. To review, it's pronounced "Impessa", it's usually a Boy Scout's camp, and it's named after the guy who invented Boy Scouts' nickname when he was fighting in South Africa. It was given to him by his enemies and he said it meant "The Wolf that Never Sleeps". However, it actually means "Hyena"| in Ashanti. It's supposedly haunted by a ghost named "Drumbo Dan" who was killed there after losing his feet, and who therefor cuts off peoples feet off in an attempt to reattach them to his ghost body.
Second week was at Kimbercote. Last year was the first that Impeesa was used, and for at least three years prior to my joining Summer Program and likely more, Kimbercote was the go-to location for overnight. I'd heard plenty of stories about how much rougher Kimbercote was, so I was very eager to experience it myself. It wasn't so bad. The location was far more remote than Impeesa. The cabin seemed older, and had a number of personal touches and quirks, but it was fine for our purposes. It's near Collingwood, it's at the top of a hill, and the view is spectacular.
Over the two weeks we had campfires, went on hikes, went swimming, watched movies, played games, held a dance... A staff at Extend-a-Family has a farm near Collingwood and we went there for a day trip. We also had a day trip at Bingemins water park on the last Friday (scheduling difficulties landed us in Kitchener a bit early in the second week, but we got an extra day trip out of it). At Bingemins we did the wave pool, warm water jet stream, water slides, and mini golf as well as a few games the staff led nearer the end of the day.
It was a good two weeks!
I have a place to live next month! Moving in with a couple of friends. I was getting pretty nervous when I had half a month to find a place and knew I was spending two weeks out camping.
And two of my sunflowers blossomed! I'm calling it a good omen and naming them after my two future roommates.
First week of overnight we stayed at Camp Impeesa. I went there last year. To review, it's pronounced "Impessa", it's usually a Boy Scout's camp, and it's named after the guy who invented Boy Scouts' nickname when he was fighting in South Africa. It was given to him by his enemies and he said it meant "The Wolf that Never Sleeps". However, it actually means "Hyena"| in Ashanti. It's supposedly haunted by a ghost named "Drumbo Dan" who was killed there after losing his feet, and who therefor cuts off peoples feet off in an attempt to reattach them to his ghost body.
Second week was at Kimbercote. Last year was the first that Impeesa was used, and for at least three years prior to my joining Summer Program and likely more, Kimbercote was the go-to location for overnight. I'd heard plenty of stories about how much rougher Kimbercote was, so I was very eager to experience it myself. It wasn't so bad. The location was far more remote than Impeesa. The cabin seemed older, and had a number of personal touches and quirks, but it was fine for our purposes. It's near Collingwood, it's at the top of a hill, and the view is spectacular.
Over the two weeks we had campfires, went on hikes, went swimming, watched movies, played games, held a dance... A staff at Extend-a-Family has a farm near Collingwood and we went there for a day trip. We also had a day trip at Bingemins water park on the last Friday (scheduling difficulties landed us in Kitchener a bit early in the second week, but we got an extra day trip out of it). At Bingemins we did the wave pool, warm water jet stream, water slides, and mini golf as well as a few games the staff led nearer the end of the day.
It was a good two weeks!
I have a place to live next month! Moving in with a couple of friends. I was getting pretty nervous when I had half a month to find a place and knew I was spending two weeks out camping.
And two of my sunflowers blossomed! I'm calling it a good omen and naming them after my two future roommates.
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Wacky Water Week
Last week was Wacky Water Week. We did clay art, we went to a water park, and we played Reverse Paintball (staff got painted by participants, then had them shoot the paint off with water guns).
For the water park, we went to the Wild Water Works in Hamilton, which had a wave pool. water slides, and a lazy river (floating down a river in an inner tube).
The whole week was pretty awesome!
By some quirk of fate, I wasn't doing either of my other two jobs on Saturday, so I managed to visit my home in Guelph for the first time since Summer Program started. I haven't seen them since convocation started, actually.
But the way time lined up, I had to go to the Greyhound station right after work. And since I hadn't had time to change, I was still wearing my swim suit. The first bus that came was supposed to be going through Guelph, then Toronto, but apparently that day it was a Toronto Express, so all the people with regular Toronto tickets got upgraded while the Guelph people were asked to wait. We were told the Guelph bus would be half an hour late, but by that time, it was already half an hour late. We were told the next bus would be going to Guelph, but it was going to London. And then we had to talk another Toronto Express into taking us. Finally got on a bus an hour and a half past schedule.
My phone hadn't properly charged the night before, so it died while I was lined up. And even though I had brought a cell phone charger, there was no outlet and I couldn't leave because I didn't know when the bus might arrive. So I wasn't able to phone home and tell my mother and brother I would be late.
Night of the blue moon too. Felt powerful that my last day of Day Program would be on a blue moon night.
And yeah, Day Program is over! I'm now doing a prep week, followed by two weeks of overnight camp, followed by an evaluation week, after which the Summer Program is complete! Time is moving forward.
Got a pretty significant crop of string beans recently. Since my first batch of tomato plants didn't work out and I replaced them with a set of partially-grown ones, I've found myself in need of tomato cages when no place sells tomato cages anymore.. They're just falling over each other right now. My flowers are flowering, but sort of weakly.
I brought home some snow peas for my mom to make something with. She made them as a side with ramen.
Got my beer machine on the chilling process. Will get one more crop before I move.
For the water park, we went to the Wild Water Works in Hamilton, which had a wave pool. water slides, and a lazy river (floating down a river in an inner tube).
The whole week was pretty awesome!
By some quirk of fate, I wasn't doing either of my other two jobs on Saturday, so I managed to visit my home in Guelph for the first time since Summer Program started. I haven't seen them since convocation started, actually.
But the way time lined up, I had to go to the Greyhound station right after work. And since I hadn't had time to change, I was still wearing my swim suit. The first bus that came was supposed to be going through Guelph, then Toronto, but apparently that day it was a Toronto Express, so all the people with regular Toronto tickets got upgraded while the Guelph people were asked to wait. We were told the Guelph bus would be half an hour late, but by that time, it was already half an hour late. We were told the next bus would be going to Guelph, but it was going to London. And then we had to talk another Toronto Express into taking us. Finally got on a bus an hour and a half past schedule.
My phone hadn't properly charged the night before, so it died while I was lined up. And even though I had brought a cell phone charger, there was no outlet and I couldn't leave because I didn't know when the bus might arrive. So I wasn't able to phone home and tell my mother and brother I would be late.
Night of the blue moon too. Felt powerful that my last day of Day Program would be on a blue moon night.
And yeah, Day Program is over! I'm now doing a prep week, followed by two weeks of overnight camp, followed by an evaluation week, after which the Summer Program is complete! Time is moving forward.
Got a pretty significant crop of string beans recently. Since my first batch of tomato plants didn't work out and I replaced them with a set of partially-grown ones, I've found myself in need of tomato cages when no place sells tomato cages anymore.. They're just falling over each other right now. My flowers are flowering, but sort of weakly.
I brought home some snow peas for my mom to make something with. She made them as a side with ramen.
Got my beer machine on the chilling process. Will get one more crop before I move.
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