That was then...9/11 revisited

We were sitting in the main conference room at work getting ready to start the day as we usually did - reading the previous 24 hours worth of crisis calls. Everyone was gathering slowly, making sure we all had coffee, something to take notes on, getting to our usual chairs. "Good morning", "How ya doing?", "Another beautiful September day out there!"

We were about 15 minutes into reading the calls when Gina, the office admin, opened the door and stuck her head in and said, "A plane just hit the World Trade Center in New York!" We discussed how that could be. "Must have been a small plane." "Pilot must have had some medical issues." "So weird!" And then we continued reading the calls again.

A short while later, Gina returned. This time her face was pale and she had a terrible look in her eyes. "Another plane hit the other tower!" She exclaimed, "They're reporting that they're commercial airlines plane! Jets! With passengers on board!"

Stunned, we left the conference room and started gathering in small groups around our computer screens and radios, desperate for whatever news we could get. Everyone felt it. The silent fear of not knowing what exactly was happening. The sketchy information we were getting wasn't enough. People would come in to the office for their appointments and we would bombard them with questions. What have they heard and seen that we might be missing? Another report - another plane crashed into the Pentagon and another into a field somewhere. It was suddenly clear that we were under attack. But who would do this? Why?

  And then the live images started streaming on line. The towers on fire, black smoke billowing from the highest floors. People leaning out of windows trying to get someones attention or just some breathable air. Fire fighters, EMT's, police officers rushed to the scene as civilians looked up in fright. We all stopped. We waited. We yearned to know what has happening and why but there were no answers. We stayed close together. We longed to be home with our loved ones. Then, unbelievably, horribly, terribly, incredibly - the towers began to fall. We watched helplessly as New York filled with dust, rocks, papers, crumbled cement and smoke. People ran for their lives and our hears stopped as we watched them run. It seemed the world was ending.

  It was difficult to focus for the rest of the day. The city was eerily quiet when we were finally on our way home. We sat in stunned silence watching the images over and over again on TV, getting any new information we could. Slowly the whole terrifying story unfolded. We felt scared and unsafe. We lit candles for the dead and prayed for the recovery of anyone who may have survived. Survived? How could they have survived? But they must and we held onto the notion for weeks afterward. Even when the evidence was contrary we hoped beyond hope that there would be survivors. But there weren't.

This is now...

Today we were gathering in the main conference room to start the day as we always do - reading the previous 24 hours crisis calls. We had the usual good mornings and the getting of the coffee. We all went to our usual chairs. Then we realized the date and noticed how we were all there, as we were then, and how that day impacted our lives forever.

We will never forget the events of September 11, 2001. We will always remember that feeling of helplessness and fear and the wanting to be home with our loved ones. We will have those horrific images in our minds for the rest of our lives. Time has healed and we moved on but we will never, ever forget.

Gearing up for the big D...

So, my niece and her husband embarked on a juice fast called The Reboot a month or so before last Christmas. The idea is that you concentrate on ingesting only micronutrients which come from veggies and fruits and forego the macronutrients in meat or white potatoes and, of course, you have no processed food at all. It's meant to be a way to cleanse your systems and jump start your metabolism. You can start with ten days and go from there using a juicer to create tasty drinks. You can stop at the ten day mark or go on if you like. It's healthy and good for you. So they say.

I have a juicer that I haven't used in a long time so last night I gave my niece a call to see how the Reboot went for them. Turns out it went very well. She did it for two weeks and lost almost 20 lbs. Her husband extended his Reboot for a full 30 days, went on a two week hiatus, and then restarted for another 30 days. He dropped almost 60 lbs. without really trying. He then went on a maintenance routine reintroducing regular food into his day focusing on the micronutrient foods with small portions of macronutrients like meat, fish, and potatoes. He's kept the weight off. This week they are doing another one week fast and then so on and so forth.

Based on that knowledge, and having watched a film called, "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" I've decided to give this a shot. I'm gearing up for the big Detox which I'll start on Sunday. I'm going to do ten days which is the recommended starting point and see how it goes. This weekend I'll be clearing out the produce section of my local grocery store and my juicer will be running on overtime for the following week or do. Everyone who's tried this says the same thing. The first three days are the hardest. That's when my body will be in detox mode, getting rid of all the toxins I'm supplied it with through years of bad eating habits. Day Three, they say, is the most difficult. Apparently, sleep is elusive on that third day. But, after that, every person who's done it says something remarkable happens. Their energy level shoots through the roof. They start to sleep like babies. Their skin clears up. And the weight start falling away.

During the Reboot, you can drink as much fresh made juice as you want along with lemon water and herbal tea. No caffeine, which for me, won't be an issue really. I have about two cups of coffee per day but not every day so I know I can do without it. No processed foods at all. That, in the long haul, will be difficult because if you really think about it, we, meaning all of us, eat an enormous amount of processed foods. But I'm determined to do this. I need to do this. I'm tired of being sick and tired all the time. Getting out of bed in the morning shouldn't hurt and I'm convinced that this will get me going in the right direction.

One side affect of this Reboot, something that happens on Day Three, is that it can make you pretty cranky. So, I apologize in advance for my bitchiness that will happen next week. But after that, I'll be a peach to live with, I promise!

New technology vs. old social workers....

We got the first of our new hand held dictation devices today and I have one case manager starting up with the new system. If this goes well, this will work out wonderfully and give them all more time to do all of the other mandatory things they need to do. The new technology, however, hasn't been met with the open arms I had hoped. I guess I should have known that any change is met with resistance and this was no different. I get a lot of complaining about the lack of time to do their case notes and how time consuming that is and how far behind they are all falling. In practical terms, the time they spend typing each individual note is extremely time consuming and the time it will take them to dictate those notes into a hand held will cut that time dramatically. So far, there are only two case managers that I am making this a mandatory practice for but the option is there for all of them and if the ones who opt not to use this new system continue to fall behind and whine about it then I will make the ultimate decision to make this the mandatory method of case noting.

We are also getting laptops with Internet access so they can use them in the field and enter assessment information in real time - as they are doing the assessments with their clients. We are also looking at getting those portable mini printers so once they enter the assessment information they can immediately print it out and get the guardian or client's signature on it. That way all they have to do is come back to the office and file it! I can't do much more to make this easier for them unless I get someone else to do their jobs and just pay them anyway!

The fact is, I have a great team of people here and I'll do anything to get them the tools they need to be successful in their jobs. I'm just lucky enough to work for an agency who feels the same way!