Why Year of the Johnny part 1

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.

1. 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. Needless to say, both of theses 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 sometime. 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 work, 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 hack 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 nights 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 taken. 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 set backs. I no longer take little actions for granted. It has been said that I still sound or dwell to 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 to often unless that is what I am actually 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.

To be continued….