Based on the quote from this week I can sort of relate. I am very stressed about the upcoming semester and the work load. Not only is the work load difficult as is but I feel like all of the classes are piling up. At home my son is testing me and I find that the more I talk the more he yells. The less I talk the more he has the opportunity to explain what/how he is feeling. I am very stressed but I am trying to not be so pushy and rush him.
It will be a tough ride but I hope to finish my BA without any problems or push backs. I think next semester I will have to take less classes but I will talk to Jamie about that soon.=]
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Saturday, September 15, 2012
This week we are supposed to get into something more personal. I can't think about anything more personal than what I have already put out in the open...I'm an open book really lol.
So I will write about an experience I went through this week after work while coming home from picking my son up at day care. It put a spin on things I though wouldn't matter and didn't matter until that day.
If any one googles Salinas,ca they will get probably a million hits on gang violence in the last 4-5 years. We have been featured on shows like "Gang Land" and President Obama mentioned the city at one of his public addresses.
There are NUMEROUS shootings and most involve gangs or are gang related. I moved to Salinas in 2007 ,besides living here off an on in my childhood. My mom and I moved from my dads house and we got an apartment in the "nice"side of Salinas, the south side.When I was pregnant with my son in 2009 the shootings were RIDICULOUS, 29 in a year. There was one week where I remember 5 in one day. Not only were they happening on the "bad" side of town but on our peaceful block.
Usually I don't pay attention to the everyday news broadcast that someone was shot...AGAIN. I think it doesn't effect me because I'm not a gang member and I don't affiliate with anyone who is.
Wednesday I was driving down the BUSIEST BUSIEST street in the city at 6pm, which is when everyone is driving home from work. I'm talking with my son and notice a man laying on the sidewalk right in front of the salvation army and think to myself, 'dang a homeless guy is passed out! Why isn't anyone there?' which isn't unlikely. I then notice his clothes are VERY CLEAN! A black tee, dark jeans, and white tennies. I slow down but wonder why NOBODY else is on their brakes... they have to have seen someone laying there! Right? Ethan asks me "He's nigh-night?" At that exact moment I'm directly on the side of this man and he is laying on his side with blood on the sidewalk coming from his head and NOT one person is near him. I immediately sped up, not wanting my son to see him, and I called 911. Apparently I was one of the first callers to 911, other calls came through after I had started talking to the dispatcher. My house is about 2 blocks from this. I pulled into my driveway and told my boyfriend what had happened and the look on his face was blank.
It ends up that the man who was shot was a 22 year old and the suspect was walking behind him on the sidewalk for quite some time before he pulled out a gun and shot him in the back of the head and ran off.
My boyfriend and I had a talk and we are looking for new homes OUT of Salinas as well as my mom. We want to move back to our hometown Gonzales which is about 20 mins south of here.
So now looking at this situation I see how we can all be effected in direct and indirect ways and it shocks me.
I am still kind of shocked at the whole situation and wonder what is going wrong in this community that murders are going unsolved like they are, when they are happening in BROAD daylight and on a BUSY street right in front of the salvation army, that was busy?
So I will write about an experience I went through this week after work while coming home from picking my son up at day care. It put a spin on things I though wouldn't matter and didn't matter until that day.
If any one googles Salinas,ca they will get probably a million hits on gang violence in the last 4-5 years. We have been featured on shows like "Gang Land" and President Obama mentioned the city at one of his public addresses.
There are NUMEROUS shootings and most involve gangs or are gang related. I moved to Salinas in 2007 ,besides living here off an on in my childhood. My mom and I moved from my dads house and we got an apartment in the "nice"side of Salinas, the south side.When I was pregnant with my son in 2009 the shootings were RIDICULOUS, 29 in a year. There was one week where I remember 5 in one day. Not only were they happening on the "bad" side of town but on our peaceful block.
Usually I don't pay attention to the everyday news broadcast that someone was shot...AGAIN. I think it doesn't effect me because I'm not a gang member and I don't affiliate with anyone who is.
Wednesday I was driving down the BUSIEST BUSIEST street in the city at 6pm, which is when everyone is driving home from work. I'm talking with my son and notice a man laying on the sidewalk right in front of the salvation army and think to myself, 'dang a homeless guy is passed out! Why isn't anyone there?' which isn't unlikely. I then notice his clothes are VERY CLEAN! A black tee, dark jeans, and white tennies. I slow down but wonder why NOBODY else is on their brakes... they have to have seen someone laying there! Right? Ethan asks me "He's nigh-night?" At that exact moment I'm directly on the side of this man and he is laying on his side with blood on the sidewalk coming from his head and NOT one person is near him. I immediately sped up, not wanting my son to see him, and I called 911. Apparently I was one of the first callers to 911, other calls came through after I had started talking to the dispatcher. My house is about 2 blocks from this. I pulled into my driveway and told my boyfriend what had happened and the look on his face was blank.
It ends up that the man who was shot was a 22 year old and the suspect was walking behind him on the sidewalk for quite some time before he pulled out a gun and shot him in the back of the head and ran off.
My boyfriend and I had a talk and we are looking for new homes OUT of Salinas as well as my mom. We want to move back to our hometown Gonzales which is about 20 mins south of here.
So now looking at this situation I see how we can all be effected in direct and indirect ways and it shocks me.
I am still kind of shocked at the whole situation and wonder what is going wrong in this community that murders are going unsolved like they are, when they are happening in BROAD daylight and on a BUSY street right in front of the salvation army, that was busy?
Friday, August 31, 2012
Failure at seperating work from home..
I had a taste of separating home from work today and didn't and haven't done to well.
While I was in a meeting for our shift change this morning I was informed that while everyone in the assisted living homes including all staff(and me=(...) were sick Monday it followed to a resident that I had grown to become REALLY close to. He was 60 years old and non verbal due to his brain injury. He was very vocal and loved to hold hands and be in constant physical contact. He laughed and did things to make us laugh and frustrated us all at the same time.
Tuesday night he became really ill and the staff took him to the hospital Wednesday afternoon after high blood pressure. He became unconscious after and shortly after suffered a heart attack and passed away at 8pm.
When I was told I felt like I was hit with a big rig!
I was planning on going in and seeing his smiley curious face today and instead passed by his room several times and waited for him to come out following his staff member and being his noisy happy self.
I find it hard to not take feelings home and I hope to learn to separate the two very soon. I have a 40 min drive home from work and usually can separate frustration or being tired but I could not kick this.
Anyway I guess my point is I hope we all learn to separate work from home.
While I was in a meeting for our shift change this morning I was informed that while everyone in the assisted living homes including all staff(and me=(...) were sick Monday it followed to a resident that I had grown to become REALLY close to. He was 60 years old and non verbal due to his brain injury. He was very vocal and loved to hold hands and be in constant physical contact. He laughed and did things to make us laugh and frustrated us all at the same time.
Tuesday night he became really ill and the staff took him to the hospital Wednesday afternoon after high blood pressure. He became unconscious after and shortly after suffered a heart attack and passed away at 8pm.
When I was told I felt like I was hit with a big rig!
I was planning on going in and seeing his smiley curious face today and instead passed by his room several times and waited for him to come out following his staff member and being his noisy happy self.
I find it hard to not take feelings home and I hope to learn to separate the two very soon. I have a 40 min drive home from work and usually can separate frustration or being tired but I could not kick this.
Anyway I guess my point is I hope we all learn to separate work from home.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Now that I have started my first week of classes I have started to realize this is going to take EFFORT. I am juggling home, school, and work...which I really think is not going to stay full time.
I think what will keep me going an driving me to keep going with school is my family. I am the first in my immediate family to graduate high school and the first to go to college and make it this far. My mom was talking about her work schedule changing in a few weeks and I reminded her when I was pregnant with my son I was in school from 8am-12 pm, worked at the after school program from 2-6 pm and then worked my evening job from 6:30-2am. If I could do it she could switch from working afternoons to nights. She then told me "Shelia Marie I'm not super woman!"
I realized people expect so much out of me because I expect so much out of myself. If I want to succeed in school I need to focus on school!
I am planning on focusing on school and showing my son that I am doing this not only for myself but for him. WE will succeed together. I hope I can give my point of view to the other members of the DL community. I want them to know I am here and I can relate to lots of different situations people go through and If I am not able to, I can LISTEN and if needed give support.
When studying I have started listening to different calm study music from youtube...try it out.=]
PS. We had an ultrasound. BABY in the oven is a BOY=]
Friday, August 24, 2012
Day 1
My name is Shelia Hammond.
I am 23 years old. I have a 2 1/2 year old son and I am 5 1/2 months
pregnant. This is my first year here at HSU and I plan to stick to the
very end.=] Since I was younger working with my mom in daycare centers
I've always known I wanted to work with children. I started a new job in
2009 1:1 with special needs children at a brand new after school
program, where I was the VERY FIRST inclusion assistant out on the
floor. It was QUITE an experience!! After about a week of working with/
trying not to be beat down by 6-8 year olds, I figured out THIS is what I want to do!
As of right now I still work part time with the organization and started working full time at a group home for adults who have acquired brain
injuries. I help them with everyday life things and take them on
community outings. I like working there for now but I am still pulled
toward special needs children and their families. Families I have seen
through out our program feel lost and are SO excited when they see all
of the resources they are able to get to, but just never had someone
point them out.
I
am outspoken and LOVE my family. Right now is a very difficult turning
point in my life and I think this blog will be awesome for me to share
what is going on in my education, work, and personal life.
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