The Christianville Spirit: The 4 Types of New Years

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Uplifts Your Soul

January 29, 2014-TCS # 387

So, As We all Know, The Last Year of 2013 wasn’t as Good as we would have wanted it to be. 2013 started bad, middle was good, and Holiday Season felt, “Off” for some reason. Not just for Me, but a lot of People as well. Now, I know it is January of a New Year, but, Things don’t feel like They have changed, not just Me but, Everyone Else. Then, January, as I tell people is a Boring Month because There is nothing exciting happening over The Month of January and I know that for a lot of People, They are ready for February. Well, I found out about Something and then, thought of something interesting. Did you know that There are different types of New Years? There are 4 kinds and two of them are the Most Major. The 4 kinds are Fiscal (US State Gov.), Federal (US Government), Calendar New Years (December 31st of Old Year-January 1st of New Year), and finally Chinese New Year (January 31st-February 1st). I did not know about The Government New Year, but those are More Irrelevant to us Normal Americans. So, The Fiscal Year (I learned this from “LifePath”) is September 1st-August 31st, which is how The State Government pays for Their Programs. The Federal Year (I learned this during The US Government Shutdown) is October 1st-September 30th. and, Finally, The Calendar Year (Which We all Know) is January 1st-December 31st. However, The Last One are another story. Now, Normally, I would not pay attention to Chinese New Year because I only know so much about it, so It just goes over My Head and We move on to Valentines Day. But, Oh! Do I have Good News for You! You See, The Chinese Calendar names a Year after an Animal. a Dog, a Snake, a Rat, and a Horse, just to name a few. Anyway, Each of These Animals go on a rotation and Each Animal represents a Characteristic of The Year to Come as well as What Type of Luck will come your way. 2013 (Soooo Last Year!) was The Year of The Rat, hence probably Why Last Year was either Horrible for some to just “Not-as Great-as-It-should-have-been” or Okay. 2014, however, is The Year of Horse. The Horse, as We know (or should know) are a Very Gentle and Understanding Animal. They sense More things about You than You Know. They sense Your Energy and Help You Improve It. But, They are fun too! You can stroll along The Beach with them (This is a Year for Travel, They Say) and Yes, They are pretty Romantic, which The Chinese also say that, “There will be Surprise Romance.” And, also The Horses will teach you how to deal with Rises and Falls; as well to Run Off in The Sunset with Your Horse. This all Translates to “Great Successes and Triumph.” Now, The thing that is a Little Weird about Chinese New Year, or “Lunar New Year” as They call it locally, is that it doesn’t start until January 31st and goes until Valentine’s Day, respectively. Where as So Much of The World are used to The New Years counting down and watching the ball drop on New Years’ Eve. The Chinese, do their New Year a Month Later. It seem like we got all excited about The New Year of 2014 and Things are still the same in January. But, That is because I believe that, “The Year of The Horse” starts in February. In My Literal Mind, I thought that, “The Year of The Horse” started in January with The Rest of The Celebration but, I am wrong about that. So, The Good News is that, “The Year of Rat”(2013) is almost done and Ready to Begin, “The Year of The Horse”(2014) in a just a few days. So, with that said, Happy Lunar New Year! The “Year of The Horse” is going to be Awesome! So, Do you what This really means? You can start your New Years’ Resolution all over Again and That’s Good News! All in all, It is Interesting to Celebrate another Culture’s or Any Type of New Years.

Thanks for The Christianville Spirit. Celebrate Different Cultures and Learn about Them.

The Christianville Spirit: Job Shadowing DART

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Uplifts Your Soul

January 22, 2014-TCS # 386

So, I had a Fun and Interesting Day Yesterday, It was a Part of The Process of Supportive Employment which is “Exploration.” For Those who Do Not Know what “Supportive Employment” is; It is a Service provided by Your State’s Department of Disability & Rehabilitative Services, Here in Texas it’s called DARS for Short. Anyway, In order to get services, You have to Sign Up and Be put on a Waiting List so, The Earlier You Sign Up, The Better. Anyway, One of the many services that They offer is called “Supportive Employment,” meaning that They assign  Someone to You, to see what You are interested in and then, Go through the Process of Getting You a Job. Part of That Process is called “Job Shadowing” (Which I take as a Fancy Term for “Observing and Asking Questions”) and That bring me to Yesterday. So, Mary (The SE Person, I’ve mentioned her before) took me to Downtown Dallas to “Job Shadow” at DART which is Our Transit System. Anyway, We walked in and I got to see how DART works. We met The Supervisor, Trinidad who took us through the Call Center where People answered questions about Trip Planning and How to get from One Point to Another. It was Quite Interesting to watch them as we walked into one of The Meeting Rooms. Once we walked into one of The Meeting Rooms, We met Celia, who was our guide to showing us what DART was about. She showed us all the different things happening at DART like Their Website and How they Plan Trips using both The DART System as well as My Favorite, Google Maps. Without a flinch, Questions, Observations, and Amazements started jumping out! I had to slow myself down because I didn’t want to Interrupt them while They were explaining things to Me. I learned quite a bit of Things I did not know. For Example, If you are on a Train and You see something odd going on, You can text “DARTPolice” along with Details on Where you are at and What is happening to DART and They will send police to The Train or Location. As well, You can text the Number that is on The Bus Stop sign, “The Stop ID Number” as They call it and they can tell you where you are at and if you are going on the Right Bus. Also, there is a New Bus Line called “The D-Link” that goes around all the different hot spots of Dallas, sort of like a Hop on-Hop off kind of thing. And, The Best Part is that it is Free. Finally, You can buy a Weeks Worth of Train Passes on Your Phone or Smart Phone. The Thing that Most Fascinated Me for Some Reason was “The D-Link” because it made me think of a Local Tour Bus, only using DART. Anyway, Celia explained all about The Jobs and Training that is required in the Call Center, which are either “Customer Service” or “Customer Care.” Customer Service are those that answer the phones and help people either plan Their Trip or Try to figure out how to get somewhere. then, Customer Care, is where they handle all the complaints, concerns, or suggestions. I found out as Celia was showing some of The Job openings, Is that in Order to be in the Customer Service Call Center, You have be able to work under pressure and be able to Work in a Stressful Environment as well working 8 Hour Days during The Week and Long Hours during The Weekend as well, so that pretty much killed the chance of working there, as well as it being a Full Time Job, and I would be better off doing Part Time because we PTLSers tire out easier than Most People. Also, I would not do well working in a Stressful Environment because It would be hard to Concentrate. Anyway though, After The Presentation with Celia, Trinidad showed us around The Call Center and We got to see The Lost and Found, and That was really cool to see some of The Things that People accidentally leave on The Train or Busses. And, If things are not found within 30 Days (I think), then It is given to Charity. After that was The End of The Tour, I thanked both Trinidad and Celia for showing me around and it was an Honor to Me, for them to show me around a place like that because usually No one else but Employees, get to see that. I must admit that I taught Mary as well as Trinidad and Celia some of the things that I know about Traveling. I even gave them an idea that They thought was Wonderful. It had to deal with One of the New Toll Road in Dallas (I-635’s TeXpress Lanes) and DART putting a Bus on it. All in all, It was a Great Time that I had and It was an Honor to see the Inner Workings of DART.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Never Underestimate What You Can Do!    

The Christianville Spirit: The Meeting of Great Parents

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit Uplifts Your Soul

January 15, 2014-TCS # 385

So, In between Christmas and New Years, Something Exciting happened that I was going to tell you. You See, As You all know, I have a Rare Disorder called Potocki-Lupski Syndrome, In all of My Life of having it, We have been meeting New PTLS Members from Not Only around The Country but, also Around The World. So, This Exciting Event is probably No Surprise that We met a Very Nice PTLS Family from Eastern US that was driving through Town. They were doing a Long-Distance Christmas Trip and was luckily driving through Dallas so We got to Meet Them along The Way, Late at Night. When referring to the time that we met, I like to say, “We met under the cover of Darkness”, Muahahaha! So, Us, along with Another Local PTLS Member, SueVa, met them North of Dallas. They are a Very Young Couple but, I was Very Impressed by them. Because My Own Dad has not taken an Interest in PTLS and Me, I get Impressed by Dads who Do. So, This Dad was probably The Most Impressive because of The Way He handled the PTLS child while We were hanging out and sitting at The Table. I thought, “For a Young Dad, He is a Very Good Dad!” As for The Mom, She is Really Pretty and A Really Great Mom to Her Child. Since we were Short of Time, because They had to continue on, The Questions were Very Direct and So were The Answers. We look forward to seeing them again and Meet up with them and Our Group of Friends. Shout-Out to SueVa, Thank You for taking the time to join us in Meeting Them. All in all, As You can tell, I get Very Impressed by Great Parents as I watch them taking care of Their Kids and The Kids, themselves are just like them, Great!

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. It doesn’t how Young or Old You are, You can still be a Great Parent. 

The Christianville Spirit: Work-Assessment Day

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Uplifts Your Soul

January 8, 2014-TCS # 384

 So, Yesterday was a Very Interesting Day for Me. You See, For about a Year, My Mom and I have gotten involved with a Non-Profit Organization called Life Path Systems. This Non-Profit helps People with Special Needs get Services like Respite Care (To give My Mom, so “Mom Time” and Give me someone to do something with), Therapies (Mainly Speech) and Job Training (Which helps People get a Job via “Supportive Employment”) as well as Many other Services but, Those are The Ones that I need. So, with that said, Getting a Job via “Supportive Employment” requires different assessments that The State requires. It is pretty much a Three Segment Process that The SE Provider helps you with. So, Anyway, Yesterday was Interesting because I had to do something called a “Phone Assessment” which shows how well (or Not Well) You are with Answering Phones at an Office. So, They had Me come over to “Life Path” and Have Me answer The Phone for a few hours. I was Very Nervous because I wasn’t sure what would happen (We PTLSers Love and NEED Predictability to Function). So, My Provider, Mary had me watch the process of (or Rather, Art) of Answering Phones at Life Path. After a Few Calls that I watched, It was My Turn. At This Point, I wish I had My little Heart Monitor that I got for My Birthday, so I could see where it is, I was that Nervous. I mean, not obsessively sweating nervous but, Slightly Uncomfortable Nervous. Mary had me put on The Headset (which was probably easier) and when a Call came in, I was to Press the “Headset” button and say, “Life Path Systems, This is Christian, How may I help you?” and They would say Who they would like to talk to and I had to click “Transfer” and Enter a 4-Digit Extension, Before saying, “Let Me Transfer You.” After That, I had Press the “Headset” Button to turn it out. A Couple Times, The Callers saying the Person’s Name wasn’t clear or I thought it was something else and It made it difficult. Some Calls were Simple to handle and Other Calls were a Bit Confusing, although a Few People were Short with Me and I didn’t like that. One Person called from inside the office (which only use Extensions) and without a Second Thought, I answered differently as “Front Desk, This is Christian, How May I Help You” and They called looking for Mary, who was sitting near Me. In My Head, I thought, “She is Right Here” but, I went with the same rule as always and I kindof Laughed inside (and, Partly out loud) as I transferred them because I thought, “I’m going to Transfer You, but, I know She will not answer because She is up here.” My Final Test came after My Mom came to pick me up and She was sitting, waiting until I got done. A Mom of One of the Employees came in and asked for Me to call the Employee. So, I pressed the Headset Button and Dialed the Extension and told them, “This is Christian, From The Front Desk, Someone is Here to See You” and They responded, “Okay”, The Mom adding “Tell them that Their Mother is here to see them” and I repeated and the Person came out of The Office to see her. So, It was a Fun Time helping out doing that. And, I realized that if I wanted to work as an “Office Assistant” answering the phones would be a part of My Duty. All in all, I realized that Answering the Phones is quite an Art Form and luckily, it was a Slow Day. But, I can’t imagine doing that at a Doctor’s Office, Lawyers, and for a Magazine Editor (If You have seen The Movie, 13 Going on 30, You would get that Movie Reference!)

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Remember to be kind to The Person on the Other End of The Line, You never know how it could be!

   

The Christianville Spirit: Happy New Year 2014

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Uplifts Your Soul

January 2, 2014-TCS # 383

Hello Again, My Readers! Welcome to Another Year of Exciting, Thought-Provoking, and Inspiring Newsletters. But First; Happy New Year and, Welcome to 2014! I hope that The Year of 2014 is the Year Your Dreams Come True! I certainly believe so! So, The Tagline for 2014, will be The Spirit that Uplifts Your Soul, Which according to My Newsletter Records, will be The 10th Tagline for The Christianville Spirit Newsletter. By The Way, The Honor of This Year’s Tagline was chosen by PTLS Member, SueVa! So, I want to talk to you about Something that happens at the beginning of Every Year. People come up with New Years Resolutions, meaning Something that They want to do to improve themselves. Now, I am all about trying to improve yourself because after all, You would get boring if You didn’t. However, Sadly, Most New Years Resolutions don’t make it either the 1st week of January or To The End of January. People’s Resolutions can be anything from Losing Weight, Getting Out More, and To Be a Better Person; Just to Name a Few. But, People forget all the commitment of it and If your Resolution is to Lose Weight, You get a Membership at a Gym on January 1st. Then, You are empowered and Eventually, You slow down with going to The Gym and Cancel The Membership. Believe Me, I tried that, only with The Wii Fit and I only made it to February or so. I stopped playing it until recently when I figured that I would play a little bit, kind of Refresh My Memory of The Game. Anyway, So, instead of Setting a New Resolution, Try Something Different by saying, “What do I want to Accomplish This Year?” And, really it can be Anything, but remember that if it is a Large or Long-Term Goal, Make Steps (or My Term is Segment). So, Make Segments to What You want to Accomplish. For Me, I want to Travel a little more, Hopefully meet The Women of My Dreams, and Try to Make My Newsletter a tad more interesting. This Year, I want My Dreams to Come True and I have Faith that They will. Now, to those who do make New Years Resolutions like the Ones I mentioned earlier, then My Advice is to do it in Segments and Set Dates as well have Personal Coaches (By That, I mean, Really Good Friends who Believe in You) to help accomplish that Resolution or Goal. All in all, I’ll end with This; I believe that 2014 is a Year a New Beginnings and It may or may not happen right away, But Last Night There was a Rare “New Moon” on The First Night of The New Year and That is extremely awesome!

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Happy New Year 2014! May All Your Dreams Come True.