jenh526

It occurred to me last night that with all the manager abuse being heaped upon employees, there should be (much) more recourse for employees than going to useless/not-on-your-side HR or phoning a hotline to be condescended to, or having to go through an expensive, time-consuming legal battle. I think we should bring unions back. Not just for line workers, but also for average everyday office workers.

I think Keith Pallesen (the CO that works the psych unit) is my favorite. Seems like a no-nonsense guy. Tough but also kind. I can see him staying with it in the long-term. Also like the one with the glasses - he seems smart. I'm rooting for Andrew but he seems like he's struggling to find that middle ground.

I get a kick out of the white STIU officer who lapses into Hispanic street-speak when he's talking to the inmates. I find myself doing that sometimes, depending on who I'm talking to - it's easy to pick up the accent and inflections. I guess it probably makes him more relatable on the inside. I'd be nervous taking prisoners into the Hyde Park area. There's nothing but forest around for miles. I'd think it would be easy to escape into the woods and have someone pick you up down the road. But on the other hand, there's only one road so setting up a roadblock would probably be easy too. I've walked past inmate work crews in my building and never had an issue. It's interesting to see how cagey these inmates can be - it's like you have to watch them every second. I also never realized how much junk some of these guys accumulate in their cells. Must make it hard to sort through everything.

Can we start have interventions for people addicted to chaos? I know several of those... In fact, maybe *I'm* one, because this season doesn't seem to have enough drama compared to previous seasons. I miss the alcoholics and the anorexics/bulimics/overeaters.

Wasn't Justin using methadone? I always thought that methadone was used to help with withdrawal from heroin, but doesn't get you high.

We call it American Chop Suey. We leave out the cheese though except for some grated Parmesan cheese on top. And add a can of tomatoes. And just mix the whole thing together on the stovetop.

I've been on a tour of the old part of the prison where the riot took place. It started by several of the inmates overpowering a couple of guards. Although 33 people were murdered during the riot, making it one of the most violent in US history, none of the victims were guards (they went after the snitches). I think the inmates know that if another riot were to take place, they themselves would be the most likely victims, and so maybe they know it's not in their best interests to start something like that. Anyway, the tour leader had been a CO himself and he did say something about having something similar to a panic button - if you pressed it, you would have a squad of about 30 COs at your assistance. He said he'd only had to use it twice in 10 years. Another interesting thing about the tour - there was a former inmate also on the tour who had been incarcerated during the riot. He said he escaped through a window that a friend of his had cut through. My friend asked how they were able to cut through the metal and he basically responded "where there's a will, there's a way." Anyway, that may seem to some like a morbid thing to do, taking a tour of a prison, but the proceeds actually go to what they call programming - creating programs for inmates that help to socialize them with the aim of effectively reintegrating them into the community, and reduce the rate of recidivism (which is I think around 50%). Still, it can't be easy as a CO to deal with the head games the inmates play with you, or the actual violence when one decides to jump you for fun.

You mean other prison documentaries? I know that the state pen here made a lot of reforms after the 1980 riot. They emphasize treating the inmates as human beings, so this may be a consequence of allowing them more freedoms. The CO turnover rate must be pretty high though.

Agree about the subtitles - they were hard to read in the last episode. One thing I was wondering about from this episode - when they found the Sureño gang member in level II, they said they were going to put him with his gang - isn't that the last thing you'd want to do? I'd think you'd want to separate them as much as possible.

Thanks for the reply, ABay. This is the part that enrages me the most - I understand that there are people who are going to be jerks everywhere, but why do almost all managers support that kind of behavior?! If they didn't, the bully would lose much of his/her power. Instead (as in my situation), managers promote them. We've already lost two good people, and I need to get out of there too before it literally kills me.

Have you ever worked with someone who has it in for you? Someone that nitpicks everything you do and blows it up into a big issue and makes sure management gets panicked about it? Yeah, meet my coworker from hell.

My brother had the same reaction. About 10 years ago he was hospitalized with pancreatitis and they gave him Dilaudid for the pain. He still speaks of it lovingly. I wonder if we should have an addictions thread... As for the show, did anyone else feel that Joshua's mom was a bit lacking in affect? When his dad was dissolving in tears he made a reference to Joshua's mom being devastated - the camera panned to her, and she was just sitting there dry-eyed. Not condemning, just thought it was a little odd. Was heartbroken to find out he didn't make it - I so wanted to see "Joshua has been sober since xxx" after his amazing rehab recovery. Love Sylvia. Even at her worst, you could tell she has a good heart. Felt bad for Erin too, and her son. I think she found a convenient coping strategy in dissociation, and it was probably hard for her to let go of that in rehab.

I never thought Nelson was a joke. They were very pretty boys, but I think they had some talent. I still like their song "Love and Affection".

Yeah. It almost makes you think there really should be a license for becoming a parent. And if you become one without the license, you should be fined.

Nice follow-up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GbcUhCDpAA Hope he and his sister are still doing well.

Wow. Those poor kids. I'm glad Andrew realized at the end that he had a (extremely) toxic relationship with his mother. I hope he stays far, far away from her.

I was thinking the same thing, and wondering the same thing about myself. I kind of think it's not us though. The complete disregard for others, as well as themselves, is getting to me. Looking back on addicts from old Intervention, a lot of them seemed to have some redeeming qualities, and others had incredibly tough stories that made the addictions seem at least understandable. This lot is more about "I'm gonna get high because I like getting high and screw everyone and everything else". I think it's symptomatic of a culture that's become more narcissistic and less empathetic. But that's just my theory.

The best donut I ever had was at a mom-and-pop shop in a small town in the mountains. I had gotten there late, so they were out of coconut donuts. When I expressed my disappointment, the lady behind the counter went and made one for me - cake donut with chocolate icing and coconut flakes on top, fresh and warm. Still one of the best things I've ever eaten in my life.

Seemed like someone trying to self-treat an undiagnosed bipolar disorder to me. Wife looked like Virginia Madsen. Little boy was adorable. I'm glad he got some help - if he's on the right medications to treat his psychiatric illness, hopefully he will be able to stay clean. Also, yay Hubert!

For those that have Everyday Mexican, is there a good recipe in it for chicken enchiladas? I've lived in New Mexico for a long time, but I've never been able to figure out how to make enchiladas taste as good as the ones in the restaurants here. Mine always come out dry or bland or both. I love my Better Homes and Gardens cookbooks, but the recipe for chicken enchiladas is just about as whitebread as eating white bread.

Definitely breakfast. There was a place here in town I'd go to that had a "bakery basket" filled with small (not mini) muffins, biscuits, and cinnamon rolls, and homemade jam. It was sooo good. They also had the best coffee anywhere (a piñon roast). Temporarily out of business (lease problems) but they should be coming back soon!

Anyone remember the film Birdy with Matthew Modine (1984)? I read the book by William Wharton before I saw the movie. Also, I remember the movie Angel Heart with Mickey Rourke and DeNiro. It's weird, I rarely ever go to movies anymore. I guess nothing can really compare with my movie-going experiences in the 80's.