This day we started off with a small training on "The Spheres of Influence" presented by the director of our grantee. This was the second time I did this exercise, the first being last year. It's was a nice surprise to see how much my spheres have grown over the year!!
We also played the games that the second year members devised last Tuesday. The first was a game of Jeopardy, for which the questions pertained to basic facts that the whole team should know.
After Jeopardy we spent an hour introducing ourselves and explaining our service positions and duties. I was so nervous for some reason I could barely talk!! During my presentation to the board of directors for my service site (who just happen to be the board of directors of the grantee organization)....I wasn't even a quarter as nervous!
Lunch, and then we went over a "Service project idea selection exercise"After this slightly anxiety producing exercise we played the other second year team game of Charades/pictionary. I'm proud to say this highly successful game was my idea! I'm usually the "make it happen" person in the group and not the idea person, so it was a nice change for me. Plus it's always a positive experience to have your team not only listen to you...but agree with you! It's quite a treat in fact!
Our game kept the whole team engaged the entire time! Laughs and much fun ensued for the next hour or so. The game went smoothly despite one person claiming points were not added to her teams score, which was almost immediately verified as incorrect by our director who had apparently been keeping score as well.
Before the game was over I had to leave the room for some fresh air. I was getting sick from the smell of the dry erase markers. I happened to notice a group of my clients that had showed up for choir practice (a club/activity I established last year). My excitement that the program continued without me being around was such that I had to duck in and sing a quick song with them. I was met with a very warm and moving reception. It inspired me all over again.
Then....orientation was over for the day. It was a pretty good day!
There was a few interactions I had that were not pleasant. One was my fault, one was not.
Interaction 1: As agreed, Cherry and I do not set beside each other. I sat my binder down on the end of a table, as I feel less confined when I don't have people on either side of me. The Mouth immediately came in and set her binder next to me. Her social support then set beside of her and glanced over at me with a grin. Without missing a beat, and not acknowledging her presence at all (except for with the fact I was moving) grabbed my binder calmly while talking with another member and moved. She then proceeded to make loud comments and snicker. Yes...I could have stayed there, but why let myself be set up for such an upsetting day? Moving was the most viable option to a positive day.Well because of limiting seating at that moment, I ended up just being a few seats to their right and one row up.
:::sigh:::
After dealing with this and other small negative interactions all day without being able to lean on "my" social support at all...my day was going to the birds!
Interaction 2: Our director asked that we participate in an emotion "check in". For this we were to choose a fruit and describe how it pertained to our emotion at the time. I tried not to play by very quietly not offering my emotion. But she caught me. As a durian was already taken, I decided to be a....
Lemon: Approach me the right way and I'll enhance the flavor. Cut into me the wrong way and I squirt you in the eye!
Lol...I didn't quite get out the message I was trying to say which was...I can make things better or worse with my reaction to your "initial action".
Well to this (although there were plenty of other more sever emotions going on)...she acted shocked, and said "right now?" in her...."wtf"...way of saying things. It startled me, but I shelved it for the moment.
Well at the end of the day, when I was trying to hurry Cherry up because I wanted to get home fast the director made a joke at my expense and said "You almost got squirt in the eye Cherry!"
I was a bit put off and probably won't be sincere and honest about that type of thing again.
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