January 29, 2006
In an effort to avoid doing homework I may as well update this.
I no longer maintain a daily routine of journaling. I used to and it used to be my main vehicle for processing the world around me. Writing was very much my own form of therapy. It seems I rarely write anymore.
Why is that?
Well I started school. Which seems to eat up a huge chunk of time and energy. As it should I guess. And my best friend is back in town for a few days and he is always a big distraction. (Not on purpose I’m sure.)
Or also maybe because I didn’t want to stress myself out with one more “thing I had to do” so I just let myself fall out of the habit. Maybe I should make the space for writing in my life again.
Oh did I mention that I start working on Monday. I have a care giving job. There are some huge down sides to the gig, such as it is in Mill Valley and I don’t really want to commute. Plus the administrative assistant woman at this company continues to be a pain in my ass and I can’t seem to shake her. I should have been more assertive with her. But.. I will likely end up loving the clients. It is an elderly couple who need some care in their home several hours a day. And I really dig most old people. So that is big news.
Comments
With regard to your care-giving gig. Some things you may not agree with but might find interesting points of consideration.
1. The care giving business is a woman's world. The manner of doing business, the styles of communication, the interaction, are all much more in the world of how women deal with each other. What may have been the norms in your old jobs are not necessarily appropriate here. Women seem to feel comfortable with a more indirect style of communication. Note writing, unnecessary complements, pickiness beyond reasonableness, greater subjectivity, are all a part of this.
2. Women are more likely to become authoritarian and dictatorial in a female dominated setting. All the EO rules are made to catch men screwing up, and women often feel exempt, and many feel absolutely justified in acting in discriminatory ways.
3. The culture is one in which poor women are striving to support their families, and are therefore open to unmitigated mistreatment which they can not afford to object to. In your case this would be primarily Latin women, but perhaps some Filipinos, and Blacks. In many cases these are some of your classmates. They are striving to move into nursing and away from CNA positions. It is very difficult for them and they get little help or respect. Opression is a part of their lives and has always been there.
4. As someone who has worked in the corporate world this will be a strange place. You may often feel harassed for no good reason. You may find that your style of interaction is regarded as abrasive and overly confrontational. (remember you are supposed to be grateful that you can spend 12 hours working for not much more than minimum wage.) You may feel that rules, attitudes, and methods are not only inefficient but they are down right discriminatory against you and your fellow workers.
5. The attitudes in school may not be much better. The Nursing school staff may be disturbingly similar to those I have already described.
6.. Get your priorities straight. Keep your mind on the goal. Understand the cultures in which you plan to work. Don't let the backward nature of those around you inhibit you from attaining the very difficult goals you have set for yourself.
Soifua,
Kalapu
Hi Dorie,
This is not a comment on the post, so much as a comment on the blog: I've been a regular reader for much of the Samoa journey (but I got distracted over the past few months so I'm catching up). It's been quite a trip, and thanks for writing. It provided the vicarious experience.
Anyway, I hope all is well and that re-entry went/goes smoothly.
Cheers,
JP
There will always be older people. Reletive to your age, when do you consider someone old? Do you measure it on health, attititude or looks or a combinition of the three? I am older but when will I be old?