Why is it the Year of the Johnny…these posts first appeared on YotJ.blogspot.com. January-February 2015.My reasons for why have expanded and new post throughout this year will highlight the growth and change.
Why is it the Year of the Johnny?
These three blog posts were previously printed at Year of the Johnny. Blogspot.com
Why is it the Year of the Johnny? Of course, there is not just one simple answer to the question. I am going to try and keep it simple.
- CASAC (Certified Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselor)
Last year I started to attend class at The Resource Training Center, in Manhattan to complete the 350 hours of classroom training needed to become a certified Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselor.
The next step in this process can either be testing or the 6000-hour internship. Both of these two parts must be completed within five years of obtaining the certificate stating that the 350 classroom hours have been completed.
I plan to begin an internship sometime in March 2015. This is a huge step for me. I have not worked for quite some time. Those of you who have seen me at 100 Broadway can attest to the fact that I am diligent, consistent, outgoing, and friendly. You could say that I have a Protestant work ethic.
Unfortunately prior to and until I lost the building at 1105 Lincoln Avenue in Utica, NY, I was completely addicted to working, in a very unhealthy way. I could easily work for 18 hours a day was not uncommon or irregular.
A typical day before and after the accident to my hand typically unfolded like this: 3 AM- wake up, coffee, water, splash face with coffee and water, depending on the season and weather I would then run, bike or drive to the gym for about an hour and a half. I would then head home but I would stop and get a coffee and water on the way home. I would them shower and do whatever else I felt I needed to carry out before heading out to play contractor, while all the whole I secretly desired to be sitting at a desk chiseling out article after article or interview or short story, just being a writer. I would then leave the house for a fourth or fifth cup of coffee, which I drank while walking around Home Depot or Lowe’s getting the supplies needed for the day. I would finally make it to the job site to begin work by 7 AM. I would put in about ten hours before calling it quits and heading back to the warehouse to put in about 6 or 7 hours for myself, band practice another keg or so of coffee and a short restless night’s sleep.
Now I feel that I have rewired myself once again. Although it definitely has a different flavor this time, I seem surer in my plans, actions, and paths I chose to take I have a sound network of wonderful encouraging people supporting my efforts and accomplishments. I have faith in the law of attraction. Today I am sincerely grateful for the friends I have and have not yet met, the family I have walking on this earth with me and those who have gone on ahead, the accomplishments I have made and the lessons I have learned from failures and setbacks. I no longer take little actions for granted. It has been said that I still sound or dwell too long on negativity. I might have sounded a bit negative in the beginning of the blog but I felt it was important to show where I have come from and the accomplishments that have grown from this heavy baggage of shattered hopes and dreams. I will not dwell in this dark place too often unless that is what I am writing about. Homeless and Alone Hungry and Cold deals with the deep dark parts of my life and I promise to write about that writing project real soon.
By June I will no longer be sitting at 100 Broadway. I will be working as a paid intern at one of the cities many programs and facilities helping those caught in the throes of addiction.
I have also enrolled in Recovery Coach training and will complete those hours once the CASAC classroom training is fulfilled.
Part II
- Master’s Degree. Whenever I mention school to my family my mother would always say, “Christ, aren’t you ever going to get done?” My sister always says you are going to be like our cousin Rosemary. You are just going to be a professional student. I like to see myself like Noah Wyle’s character in The Librarian trilogy. Before he is hired as the librarian he is a professional student with an outrageous number of man degrees. I believe the number of degrees was 22; insane! Flynn Carsen speaks volumes to me just like the books of the great thinkers of our time speak to him. Well, they speak to me too. When you are the most socially inept person in the universe it is much easier to relate to books than people. I am planning on applying to a couple of graduate programs in the next couple of months.I am going to apply to Hunter College’s Sociology Master’s program and Empire College in the next few weeks. I wish I did a lot more research into Hunter College while I was going through my housing problems at the New School. I would have applied to Hunter in 2008, instead of opting for my ongoing social experiment of homelessness. I would have learned that Hunter College was a SUNY/CUNY School, not a private school like I have previously thought. Yeah, a real big mistake there. Even though, I was still riding on the Johnny needs to get his education from private schools, not state schools, high horse! This was a huge character flaw and it kept me from graduate studies. I am now more than ready to apply myself for graduate studies once again.
Most importantly I want to pursue a master’s degree for the pleasure in this academic achievement. When I enrolled in, I was the sole owner of a successful tattoo/body piercing shop in Upstate NY. I sought after my bachelor’s degree, from Utica College of Syracuse University, solely for intrinsic means and personal achievement. I cannot say this is the reason for my wishing to complete a master’s degree. I am mindful that I could use this accomplishment to bettering my position in work and life. I feel that this degree will allow me an alternative to being a counselor if I am horrible at being a counselor. My CASAC and Sociology masters would afford me the opportunity to pursue research within the Alcohol and Substance abuse dilemmas that continue to plague communities.
This finally brings me to the main reason for it being the Year of the Johnny. My goal for the year and goal for many years of my life is to be a published author. This accomplishment is on the horizon. I will sign off here for the time being and resume tomorrow.
Part III
Homeless and Alone Hungry and Cold ...is the title of memoir served in yummy essay form, mainly because I cannot recollect those years of my life in any true to life timeline. Street Junky is the present working title of the book that will be published this year.
***********************Auto-suggestion******************Have FAITH in myself and FAITH in the infinite. Napoleon Hill suggests that all thoughts which have been emotionalized (given feeling) and mixed with faith begin to immediately to translate themselves into their physical equivalent or counterpart. FAITH is the “eternal elixir” which gives live, power, and action to the impulse of thought. (47,49).
The book deals with my careless and carefree, reckless and wrecked, out of control but still controlled, young, naive and everything but innocent life. These essays take place in the drug crazed 1980’s and early to mid ’90’s. The stories take place mostly in NY, with a few random trips to the west coast and back and back again. These essays tend to be quite heavy, tragic, sad, and the raw, unfinished version has been described as watching a tragic automobile accident take place. The reader wants to put it down because the writing caused a feeling of despair, but she was unable to stop and put it down because she had to learn the true outcome. Could there be any better compliment?
Another friend said that the essays forced him to take a look deep inside himself and confront demons, character flaws, shortcomings, and other defects he didn’t know he possessed.
I am on the 3rd re-write and then I will sit down with an editor.
These were my goals when I first began this blog 3 years ago. This list show’s progress
1 CASAC .Will have certification in the next several weeks.
2. MASTER’s Degree- Recently applied to Hunter College for a Master’s in clinical mental health counseling.3. Publish…Publish…PublishSTREET JUNKY-Homeless Alone Hungry and Cold- Street Junky is in it’s 3rd and final edit.
3. publish Publish PublishSTREET JUNKY-Homeless Alone Hungry and Cold- Street Junky is in it’s 3rd and final edit. This is not a re-write SJ is being edited with an editor. I will post the introduction and first essay to each 3 parts in the next several weeks.
Goals-New goals have been set. Plans are being followed and I know that with the same motivation, hard work, and dedication I will accomplish my next level-up!!!
Cheers
j.