assessing their situation

This quarter, I have felt a little disappointed with my internship.  I’ve enjoyed the retreat and such but I feel like I’m missing more this time.  I can hold down the house and make sure the day-to-day operations run smoothly but some of my classmates are giving presentations at their agency.  That may be setting the bar high but I don’t want to completely waste this opportunity.  Although, today I felt like I was getting my money’s worth.

I have been worried for the past several weeks about my next writing assignment which revolves around me doing a mental health assessment.  Two Fridays ago, I sat in on a new client’s initial assessment and, while I did appreciate the opportunity, it isn’t the same thing.  I have been trying to schedule time to sit in on an MH assessment and it keeps not working out.  Out of desperation, I agreed to do a mock assessment with a housing resident where she gave me factual information but the assessment would never be official.

Even as a mock interview, there were still some difficult questions, particularly the ones about abuse and self-harm, that I wanted to see someone ask before I went about it on my own.  However, my supervisor pretty much just pushed me off the high dive and said going for it would be the only way I would learn because you’ve just got to experience it.

I owe her a debt of gratitude (what an odd phrase) though because it totally worked.  It was probably the best interview I had ever done.  I sympathized but didn’t lead or blame.  I listened and asked pertinent questions.  I returned to the question of self-harm after I almost forgot it but still managed to end the interview on a positive and inspirational note. And I completed a successful eco-map!  Go me!

Not only am I thrilled about this because it’s been weighing so heavily on me and it’s good to have it done but I think I did a great job AND it’s the last thing I really have to do before my birthday vacation.  I’m ready now; ready to assess people, ready to finish this assignment, ready for vacation and ready to relax.

What else?

I got another new phone.  Actually, this is the third droid they sent me.  After the green screen, they sent me a ‘like new’ droid that took 30 seconds to load every time you hit the home screen button or back button.  Then, they sent me one that quickly got stuck in a reset loop.  Now, it looks like they may have gotten it right.  Damn, if they didn’t though, I’m going to pretty much insist on a new phone or take all my business from Verizon.

I tried the vegetarian squid balls.  They tasted like $1.69.