(no subject)
what happened this week? coworker larry got headbutted in the face by a handcuffed guest. it was all part of the most chaotic opening ever at the shelter, with paramedics for seizuring dude, police for belligerent dude, and a hundred impatient guys freaking out cos of the cold. last week i had the big ethical dilemma night at the shelter. sheriffs surrounded the building and demanded i turn over a guy, although they had no search warrant. i debated running them off, but then i pondered the night when we refused to cooperate with sheriffs... I mean, i fib to cops all the time, but last time sheriffs came in these numbers, and we didn't cooperate, they retaliated by coming in the morning and harassing all the guests (one man with schizophrenia ended up permanently scarred after being tackled by 'em). so i surrendered the man judas-style. i couldn't sleep, i was racked by guilt.... the only thing that lessened the remorse was the celebratory mood of other guests. apparently this dude has been running around threatening everyone for weeks, so they were all much relieved. but whether or not the guy is an asshat seems peripheral to the ethics of the situation. one of those "good of the one vs the good of the many" things, complicated by the old question "but if someone's capable of throwing one under the bus for the good of many, what does that really say about them?"
last saturday i had a lovely dinner party with meredith and jason, also my friend laura, her sister and brother in law, and mere's baby. it was lovely, and i even got a ride all the way home because laura's brother-in-law really wanted to talk catholicism longer. meredith and i had a private dinner party at el cid's monday. i hadn't really talked with her since before california. we were there for hours--slamming back pitchers of water. meredith was at various points in that laugh-to-the-point-of-crying zone... about random things--finding dissolved baby treats in the toilet, etc. that was mlk day, so the day began with the huge day of service breakfast that the rush students put on for the guests at the shelter. i was so sleep deprived--as holly and i watched movies that day, i wandered about muttering to myself, inviting holly to smoke simply by sneaking up behind her and pushing a cigarette in her mouth, etc.
one of the guests expressed concern about my threadbare coat, observing "you realize that we tend to look a lot better than you do? there's something wrong there!" i had various charming exchanges with my clientele this week, but can't think of any now. friday i was happy to introduce a russian u of c psych resident to my client patrick. he delighted in trying to pronounce her name, then announcing "it doesn't suck, as the kids on the street say." he was in good spirits, although i was disturbed when (while making a joke about someone may do a drug test and discover how much time he spent outside in "hypothermia temperatures") he giddily yanked some of his hair out.
anyhoo, so last night i hung out with the ryan cat who stood me up last post. it was pretty entertaining. we ate some burgers and watched some movies, he teased me considerably about my being a hippie and a pseudo homeless person. now, as soon as i walked in the door, he handed over my pajamas to me and some other items i had left at new years. but NOT the book... so each time he went to the washroom, i zipped around the apartment peeking in drawers and closets, trying to find the thing. then i'd zip back to the couch to look innocuous. i spent the night (which sounds sexier than it is; the most scandalous thing that happened was some hand holding), which gave me a little extra time to ransack his room while he took his morning shower. no luck, though.
oh man, i've got to go meet mere and jason for this party--i'm awkward enough at parties, but this is one for that paul dude who's my local historian hero. i am never not totally awkward around him.
last saturday i had a lovely dinner party with meredith and jason, also my friend laura, her sister and brother in law, and mere's baby. it was lovely, and i even got a ride all the way home because laura's brother-in-law really wanted to talk catholicism longer. meredith and i had a private dinner party at el cid's monday. i hadn't really talked with her since before california. we were there for hours--slamming back pitchers of water. meredith was at various points in that laugh-to-the-point-of-crying zone... about random things--finding dissolved baby treats in the toilet, etc. that was mlk day, so the day began with the huge day of service breakfast that the rush students put on for the guests at the shelter. i was so sleep deprived--as holly and i watched movies that day, i wandered about muttering to myself, inviting holly to smoke simply by sneaking up behind her and pushing a cigarette in her mouth, etc.
one of the guests expressed concern about my threadbare coat, observing "you realize that we tend to look a lot better than you do? there's something wrong there!" i had various charming exchanges with my clientele this week, but can't think of any now. friday i was happy to introduce a russian u of c psych resident to my client patrick. he delighted in trying to pronounce her name, then announcing "it doesn't suck, as the kids on the street say." he was in good spirits, although i was disturbed when (while making a joke about someone may do a drug test and discover how much time he spent outside in "hypothermia temperatures") he giddily yanked some of his hair out.
anyhoo, so last night i hung out with the ryan cat who stood me up last post. it was pretty entertaining. we ate some burgers and watched some movies, he teased me considerably about my being a hippie and a pseudo homeless person. now, as soon as i walked in the door, he handed over my pajamas to me and some other items i had left at new years. but NOT the book... so each time he went to the washroom, i zipped around the apartment peeking in drawers and closets, trying to find the thing. then i'd zip back to the couch to look innocuous. i spent the night (which sounds sexier than it is; the most scandalous thing that happened was some hand holding), which gave me a little extra time to ransack his room while he took his morning shower. no luck, though.
oh man, i've got to go meet mere and jason for this party--i'm awkward enough at parties, but this is one for that paul dude who's my local historian hero. i am never not totally awkward around him.