Hello, Everyone!
I know that it has been quite a
while since I have made a post of any kind here. Part of it has been the
challenges with balancing work and family life, and part of it has been the
fact that I have felt little inspiration with what to write.
Although work at the prison has
often been frustrating, there have been some good days. I have been an
acting Case Worker on several different galleries at least twelve times since
October 31th. Although it has been challenging at times, it has also been
very rewarding for me. Working as an acting Case Worker has come a lot
more naturally for me, and has felt a lot less emotionally and spiritually
draining to me. Instead of almost always coming home tired, exhausted,
and even angry because of work, I have come home tired by at least content.
Part of the reason why I have
volunteered to be an acting Case Worker is for a change of pace, but also to
help me with applying for Case Manager. For those who might not be
familiar with what a Case Manager does within a prison, so I will try to
quickly explain it. A Case Manager deals with an Inmate's programming,
classification, with where they can live, with conducting Unit Disciplinary
hearings (for minor rule breakage), etc.
Several months ago, I applied
for Case Manager for the prison that I work at, and at another one. The
feedback that I received from four different people, two at each institution
amounted to: "Your answers were exactly what we were looking
for," "You did a very good interview," and "Please, do
apply again when the job re-opens in the future." In one case, I
missed the point cutoff by only two points. The significant part for me
was the fact that I had no Unit experience at that point, only Custody Staff
experience. While there is some overlap in what we do, especially in
security and safety, the actual role is a bit different.
Well, I did re-apply for this position at the same two
institutions as I had a few months ago.
This time, though, I had a lot more confidence in my answers that I gave
them. Although many of the questions
were the same, there were some different ones.
But, I was able to successfully answer their questions. And, based on the feedback that I observed, I
seemed to have impressed the two interview boards as much as, or even more than
last time.
I should know by the end of this week for one institution and maybe
at the beginning of next week for the other.
Although I have been looking at transferring to another institution, I
have come to the conclusion that it would probably be better to continue
working at my current place of employment.
Not only have I build a positive relationship with staff, but also
a very positive rapport with the Inmates.
What’s also very interesting is that most of the Inmates that I have
worked with as an acting Case Worker seem to have made a successful transition
from me being in a Custody Staff role to being in a Unit Staff role. This has really helped me with getting things
done. Because of this rapport, it would
probably help to stay at my current institution. Although some Inmates might have a different
time adjusting to my new role, I think that many of them will not.
For those know me well in real life, or have followed me for quite
a while, you know how much I have not liked my job as Custody Staff. Although I can do that job very well, it is a
role that brings little satisfaction to me.
And, as an INFJ, job satisfaction is extremely, extremely important. Without significant job satisfaction, I feel
miserable. However, the impression that
I have that, as a Case Manager, I would be utilizing my natural gifts and
ministry training, which would lead to significant job satisfaction. If being a Case Manager is anything like
being an acting Religious Coordinator (which I did several years ago), even a
bad, extremely hectic day will give me significant satisfaction.
Other news… My daughter was
officially diagnosed with having Influenza A.
My wife had a brief flare-up.
And, since I have been taking care of her for several days since she
first came down with it Monday, my temperature has peaked at about 100.6
F. So, no work for me tomorrow. I have noticed that God has graced me with a
very strong immune system. Over the years,
I have noticed that what ever bug my family gets, I will often get. However, the time that I am actually sick is
about half of long they were sick. So,
it doesn’t surprise me that my temperature spiked this afternoon. But, I should be back to normal temperature
tomorrow and back to work on Friday. As
long as our son doesn’t get sick, the bug should be out of our systems well
before Christmas.
Speaking of Christmas… We
will be celebrating Christmas here in Nebraska next week. Since my wife works as a teacher’s aide, she
will have the next few weeks off. I, on
the other hand will have to work. However,
due to the days off that I have, I will be home for this Christmas. That is something that we are really looking
forward to.
With wherever you are, I hope that you have a wonderful Christmas
and a blessed New Year. I will try to
write at least once more before Christmas and the New Years, but I can’t guarantee
it.
In Christ,
RC
