Phone rings, waking me up. I answer instinctively but foggily.

"Hello?" 
I am met with a loud voice of a man with a heavy middle-eastern accent. "HELLO I EM OUTSIDE ATA THE CORNER VAITING. I EM ATA THE CORNER OF DAY STREET. YOU COME MEETA ME."

My brain is not computing. "What?"
"I EM ATA THE CORNER OF DAY ANDA UH CHESTER STREET. YOU COME UH MEETA ME."

This makes no sense. I don't live near the corner of any street, much less one called Day Street, and I don't recall having to meet anyone today.  I briefly wonder if I've overslept and forgotten about a client meeting, but then I realize that the call came into my personal cellphone, not my work phone.  I'm even more confused.

"Why would I come outside and meet you?! I don't know who you are or why you are here to meet me!"

"YOU LIVE AT UH ONE TWEENTY FOURA CHESTER STREET? I AM AT CORNER OF DAY AND CHESTER STREET."

"What city are you in?"

"YOU MEETA ME AT CORNER."

"What CITY, what TOWN are you currently in?"

"I AM INA SOAM-AIR-VILLE."

The light dawns.  He's at the corner of Day and CHESTNUT Streets and I just woke up enough to realize that he's a cabbie and based on the time of day, he's waiting for RYAN (to take him to the airport)! 

"Oh!  You are calling for my boyfriend.  Just a moment. I'll call him for you and he'll be right out."

I call Ryan, tell him his cab is at the corner of Day and Chestnut.  He's equally befuddled why they called me but has no time to figure it out right then so runs off to catch his cab.  It turns out the cab company had my phone number on file with his address and somehow managed to give the cabbie MY number instead of Ryan's even though I know Ryan gave them his cell when he called last night to schedule the pick-up.

Wow was that a weird wake-up call! 

I think I've made a few references to job hunting here and on facebook, but I thought it might help to make an official announcement and request for networking help:

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I am a "Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker" (LICSW) with a background that includes working with addiction, chronic mental illness, poverty, and trauma.  I've done groups, individual psychotherapy, brief family therapy, discharge planning, and case management/community referral.

I've worked in general medical settings (Brigham and Women's Hospital), inpatient psychiatric settings, "28 day" addiction treatment settings, and general case management including home outreach.  I've also supervised interns and new clinicians. 

As an aside, I'm also experienced at medical information system implementation and optimization (McKesson), as well as training clinicians (who are typically very computer-shy/illiterate) on how to use these systems.

I'm looking for work in the Worcester area (Worcester, Marlboro, Hudson... would be willing to go as far east as Framingham/Natick, as far south as Franklin, and as far north as Fitchburg) but will consider a remote work-from-home type situation with some minimal travel. 

I'm not looking for a home-based therapy situation again, and I'm most interested in working with adults - not pediatrics or geriatrics.

I'm most interested in getting away from straight case management and back into more complex clinical work - i.e. outpatient psychotherapy.  I'd love a position that includes a supervisory role, specifically training interns.   Alternately, I'm open to a more technical type career path that utilizes my clinical background - such as a position at McKesson or other health care related IT company. 

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I know most of you aren't in my field, but you never know what will come from networking and putting things out there!  Please let me know if you're aware of anything that might possibly be a good fit for me (and them)!  Feel free to pass along the meat of this post to folks you think would be helpful.

Thanks!!

liljackhorner and my mom are my heroes.

I've worn them both to complete exhaustion with all the painting over the last 3 days.  Well, 2 days of actual painting, but 1 day of running around in preparation to paint.

My feet hurt and I'm just really really tired. I know they feel the same way and it's not even their house  - and they're coming back for more!

Pictures to come soon.  Too tired to upload and post them now.

Well crap.  I've got that familiar feeling creeping up in my back of my throat.  The painful swallow.  The extra mucus.  The first sign of a cold.

Grrr.

Zicam here I come.

Poll #1381531 Smartphone/Blackberry/iPhone
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

Do you feel like the cost of your Smartphone / Blackberry / iPhone data plan (which about doubles the monthly cost of a cellphone) is worth it? Truly?

What do you have?

Why do I like melted sharp cheddar so much more than when it's cold and hard?  It's definitely different.

Spent the day at an Addictions Conference at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel (and will do so again tomorrow).  Some of you may not know that substance abuse treatment is what I used to do before I had kids and decided to do something less clinical. 

I really enjoy this topic and it's always great being around smart people with new and interesting ideas.  It definitely reinforces my plan to move back in this direction when I'm ready to go back to clinical work (which is probably soon-ish). 

I got to reconnect with some old colleagues and former-supervisor from my internship at Brigham & Women's Addiction Psychiatry Service, which was great.  They were all trying to remember how long ago I was there... "was it 5? 6 years ago?"  "Um, try almost 10!"   We all compared our aging by the growing up of our kids.  My former supervisor, who I really like and feel connected to, offered to mentor me in setting up a private practice if I ever want to head in that direction.  It's an intriguing idea...

Been picking some brains about how to go about getting my CAS or LADC (addictions treatment certifications) which would add a few $ to my salary if/when I'm ready to go back to this. 

This will also satisfy my CEU requirements for this calendar year, but I really came for the professional development regarless of the CEUs. 

I've been so BORED in my job for so long... it's great to feel that glimmer of excitement again.

I've been speaking to my landlord pretty frequently over the last two weeks, much to his dismay (and mine).  I've had the heat go out on me about 4 times since January 11th and today nearly got roasted out of my apartment for the opposite reason.

( Too cold, too HOT! )

Thanks for the suggestion, candle_light , I found the perfect boots (on sale even!) at REI today.  Finally!!!  

Why do stores sell items for the upcoming season WAAAY before it starts, and are therefore almost SOLD OUT during the season you are in?

My kids have suddenly grown out of their winter snowboots.  Like, BAM, overnight... too small.  We've been having the hardest time finding snow boots (good ones) in their size! 

Folks... it's winter!  It's snowy outside!  Kids need snowboots!  Kids grow out of stuff, lose stuff, ruin stuff.  Let us buy it during the season it's needed please?!

I think I'm going to resort to Ebay.  Even online retailers are sold out in a lot of sizes (LLBean).  

Flight out this afternoon got cancelled.  I'd like my 3 hours to/at/from the airport, please.

We're rebooked Monday morning so we'll try again then!

Turkey is in the oven and the bread is rising. 

I love my Grandboss. It makes all the difference in the world to work for someone who is sane, generous, smart, and funny all at once.

Obama said, "They're going to try to make you afraid of me: 'He's young and inexperienced and he's got a funny name. And did I mention he's black?" 

And now, as predicted, they are.  McCain and Palin are now trying to paint him with the racial stereotype that he's also untrustworthy.  They've said it a lot in the last few days, "It's time America finds out who the real Barack Obama is" (particularly as they suggest he's a terrorist-by-association) because, you know, those blacks are all so untrustworthy; you can't really know who they are because they're shifty.

Luckily the tactic seems to failing, but I am SICK to my stomach that they're going there.  SICK.

During morning snuggles, Drew asked sleepily, "Is it a school day, Mama?"  "No, babe, it's Sunday."  He was disappointed, "Aww! I wish it was Monday.  I love school."

Just now, when I got out of the shower, I hear the boys playing a game.  The game involved adding numbers in their head vs. the calculator (I didn't catch all the other rules - you know how convolulted the rules can get during kids' games).  But they were both totally engaged and loving the math part - especially Alex who is showing signs of having inherited his father's math genes.