gdp's Comments

Crasstalk : Start of the 3 Day Weekend Open Thread and Picnic Lunch

Sat, 24 May 2014 03:48:24 +0000

Arguably! I was doing suicide risk assessments and I quit to go nanny for the same amount of pay. Don't major in the mental health field, kids.

Crasstalk : Start of the 3 Day Weekend Open Thread and Picnic Lunch

Sat, 24 May 2014 03:27:29 +0000

Hey! I quit my job and stumbled back here. Glad to see all you bastards.

Crasstalk : Wednesday Open Thread

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:36:47 +0000

So what leads one to become a funeral home employee? Thus far they've all seemed like failed used car salesmen-- with even less interpersonal skills. An extra 400 dollars for a burial on Saturday? You can pay over the phone but no wait you can't! Plus also we will never call you back! Jesus christ, you think these people would have it together.

Crasstalk : Monday Open Thread

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 04:12:35 +0000

It would be nice if grief/mourning lasted a predetermined amount of time and then you were done with it. The funeral was Friday-- it couldn't've gone any better and I felt like my dad was watching and having a great time. My eulogy went over well (I managed to make 'em laugh and cry), and everything felt like the perfect summation of who my dad was. My favorite part was probably at the rosary the night before, where we played "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" at the end (as per his request).... everyone started singing along, and it nicely encapsulated who my dad was (deeply religious, but also perfectly able to appreciate some damn good satire). So far the hardest part have been the dreams-- last night I dreamt he was home and I woke up very confused and upset. Adding a job search into the grief mix is very daunting.

Crasstalk : Wednesday Open Thread

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 05:56:49 +0000

I have to give him extra credit-- he did it in a room full of relatives, which had to be extra nerve-wracking. I keep trying to remember his words (I've been having a hard time keeping things in my brain)...he said something like "This really isn't a good time, but there hasn't been a good time since I met you-- I love your daughter, and when the time is right I want your permission to be with her forever". I know he heard him, and that's what matters most.

Crasstalk : Wednesday Open Thread

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 05:52:27 +0000

I got a job up in Dallas, so I quit the state school (and it sounds like it's still a sinking ship)...unfortunately, the job I got was a complete joke (think modern day snake oil salesmen...according to them chewing gum raises your IQ 10-20 points and you can cure seizure disorders by breathing) and the consensus was it was time for me to quit...after four days. Right now I'm jobless (I was supposed to have an interview a few days ago but I cancelled for obvious reasons). I've found out some other stuff about my old job that would make your head spin, it's a difficult field for sure.

Crasstalk : Wednesday Open Thread

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 05:50:06 +0000

Thanks Cap'n. I often think of this place, I dunno why I don't comment more often.

Crasstalk : Wednesday Open Thread

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 01:51:32 +0000

He's sitting here playing Townes van Zandt on the guitar while I struggle to write a eulogy-- mostly I've been talking about ice cream and politics, which is maybe a bad idea?

Crasstalk : Wednesday Open Thread

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 00:54:07 +0000

He was cool-- it's a shame how you forget it during your teenage years, but I'm glad he stuck around long enough for it to all come back to me.

Crasstalk : Wednesday Open Thread

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 23:42:24 +0000

He was way, way too young.

Crasstalk : Wednesday Open Thread

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 23:42:04 +0000

He was in partial remission, we bought tickets to Paris to celebrate, and his immune system just never came back...and then the cancer tripled in something like four days and he was never able to bounce back. His doctor said it was the most aggressive multiple myeloma he's seen.

Crasstalk : Wednesday Open Thread

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 23:34:17 +0000

One of my other new favorite pictures: <img src=http://i40.tinypic.com/2s6sllx.jpg> Taken during a cross-country trip with his older brother, which he took to "make sure" he wanted to marry my mom. The trip ended seven days early because my dad couldn't stop mooning over her...he and his brother weren't speaking by the end, he was so annoyed with him. As the story goes, my dad banged on my mom's door at 2am, told her he needed to ask her something, and they went for a walk around Town Lake, where he proposed (which wasn't a surprise-- they'd picked a ring before the trip!)

Crasstalk : Wednesday Open Thread

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 23:30:16 +0000

It was crazy to see how he held on-- his body was so used to fighting, it had a hard time letting go. Even after his kidneys failed, his heart was very strong. Fuck cancer indeed-- my sister is completing a 4,000 mile bike ride from Austin to Alaska next summer to raise money for cancer research, and to give cancer the finger.

Crasstalk : Wednesday Open Thread

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 23:28:48 +0000

If memory serves (which it probably doesn't since I was 2 or 3 there and I'm 26 now), he probably looks so happy because he went on to eat most of my (admittedly small) haul.

Crasstalk : Wednesday Open Thread

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 23:25:34 +0000

He would want me to clarify-- we're not engaged yet! He told me he didn't want my memory of our engagement to be in my dad's hospital room as he was dying...and he's quite right. I'm quite fond of him...in one of my last conversations with my dad he pointed out that "I never thought someone would come along who could handle this-- lesser men would've turned tail and run. He's a neat guy." As usual, my father was right.

Crasstalk : Wednesday Open Thread

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 23:18:23 +0000

Early on you told me something along the lines of not having to wrap my brain around his illness, but instead learning to just be with it (or something like that)...I went back to that thought often, so thank you.

Crasstalk : Wednesday Open Thread

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 23:13:02 +0000

That's what I've realized after going through his pictures-- he was a handsome guy! He had his pudgy years, but those have been redacted for the slideshow (as he would've wanted!)

Crasstalk : Wednesday Open Thread

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 23:12:26 +0000

I forgot to mention.. eta: I'm still with the boy, who didn't leave my side for the 60 straight hours we spent in the hospital (he slept on the floor of the waiting room with me and my sisters). He gave me a wonderful gift, as well-- while my dad was still conscious he asked him for permission to marry me. We wanted to badly for my dad to be a part of the entire process, so to allow him to be there for the very beginning just brought so much peace to his passing for me.

Crasstalk : Wednesday Open Thread

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 23:05:00 +0000

Hi all. It's been so long, I'm not sure if anyone remembers me but I wanted to pop by. My dad passed away from complications of multiple myeloma on Monday and y'all were very supportive when we first got the diagnosis. He had been hospitalized for a month in April, was home for three weeks, and then ten days ago he was readmitted because they thought he had pneumonia; five days ago they realized the cancer had spread to his kidneys and he decided to stop all treatment except for palliative care. We had four really beautiful, horrible days to spend with him and were able to be with him when he passed. I've forgotten how to do fancy links, so I just posted the link to his obituary below....and here's a picture of me as Batman on my first real Halloween.
http://www.hughescrownhill.com/book-of-memories/1...

Crasstalk : Tuesday Open Thread

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 03:49:03 +0000

My supervisor has already issued a standing order that I'm to be removed from the caseload if I become the guy's next target. I've been lucky so far, and I'm smart about my boundaries but his leer/constant staring gets old. Also, on Thursday he called me a "hot potato" but I'm yet to really figure out what that means. I interviewed for a client advocacy position at a facility closer to my boyfriend/family, and I will find out in March if I got it-- so hopefully that comes through! Most days I find him to be one of my favorite clients to deal with-- I'm way more interested in Axis I disorders than I am developmental disabilities, and he's got a unique amount of insight into his condition... he's very intelligent, and I would like to help him get to a place where he's able to again resist those impulses (until last January, he'd been stable for three or four years).