Getting Staffed!!??

Written on March 3, 2011....

   Today was mostly uneventful. We had Rec at 8:30AM and I made sure my cellmate came down too. We worked out our arms today, and by the time we got back to the cell he was complaining about how his arms were killing him. I told him to keep stretching and it'll get better. Instead, after we took showers, he decided to take a nap with his arms curled up. When it was time for him to get up for lunch, he jumped off the top bunk and almost screamed when to stretched his arms out! I teased him about it for awhile, only because it wasn't long ago when I did the same thing! After lunch my cellmate had a Psych. Appt. to do a follow-up on his meds. For the rest of the day we did the usual: read, nap, talk, etc. 

  Later in the evening the swamper did ice distribution and then read off everyone's passes for tomorrow. Almost everyone has a Library pass at 8:30AM. Then he came back to my cell and told me I have a “PM Will-Call pass for A & E”. He tells me this everyday though. It means they'll call me down whenever they need me in the PM hours for my Assessment & Evaluation (staffing). I didn't believe it so I said I wasn't even going to get up until he read my DOC# off of it. Once he did, I knew it was true; I'm going to staffing tomorrow!! I can't wait, but I'm nervous, but at the same time I don't think I could be any more prepared than I am now. I'm going to reread my notes for this meeting and try to distract myself by reading before I attempt to get some sleep. Wish me luck! I'm going to need it...

Until tomorrow...

~J. Doe

Only With Your Father, God and The Bible...

Written on February 19, 2011,

   I was aiming to go to Rec again today, but when I got up for 6:00AM standing count, I almost couldn't stand up in time. I pinched a nerve in my lower back that was causing severe muscle spasms and debilitating pain in certain positions. So after breakfast I went back to bed and tried to get some sleep while doing my best to keep my back straight. I woke up just before lunch and was as stiff as a board. I went to lunch and came back long enough to do standing count and get ready for Rec before 12:30PM. I still went to Rec with every intention of working out so I could shake this stiffness and hopefully un-pinch the nerve causing me these problems. After Rec I felt a little better and the hot shower helped some too. It's not perfect but I can't expect much more without a chiropractor.

   My cellmate got called out for a visit he was expecting to get on Sunday, but I guess they came earlier due to the pending storm. He was called out around 3:15PM and unfortunately neither he nor his father knew visits only go until 4:00 on weekends. They canceled his visit around 3:45PM giving him only a half hour or so. That really sucks for him. He doesn't have anyone else out there that he's in touch with anymore besides his father. So between visits that he looks forward to so much, he has the Bible and God.

   The remainder of my Saturday was spent reading and talking to my cellmate about things I'm sure hardly any others in here are educated enough on to hold a conversation about. Like computer hardware, software, languages of code, differences of operating systems, and other technology related subjects. I have been trying to limit my food intake because I find myself eating out of boredom, and I'm gaining weight too fast. So I had to keep myself distracted enough to not eat anything either. I think it was pretty late when I had the light turned off.

Until tomorrow...

~J. Doe

A Psychological Workout

Written on Wednesday, February 16, 2011..

   Today I had Rec downstairs at 2:30pm. One of the guys I work out with down there left to Rhinelander, WI, to sit in the county jail. Some of the counties have agreements to essentially lease an unused portion of their jail to the D.O.C. for housing of inmates sentenced to prison. They are for temporary holding only, so inmates only sit there for up to four months usually. Sometimes the inmates will leave one county jail and go to another though. There is no standardized system by any means. In these jails they are assigned “state pods” for prison inmates only. They are not housed in the general population. One way to be sure to not be sent to any county jail is to be put on some sort of psych medication. Jails typically don't offer any psychological staff, so if you have any need for psych meds, they won't send you there. Now this sounds easy enough, but what they don't tell you is that when you get staffed if you are taking these same types of medications, they won't usually send you to a minimum security prison for the same reason. So you're damned if you do, and damned it you don't! Anyhow, he went to a county jail, leaving only two of us in our group working out together. Because of this I had even less time to rest between sets. This, plus the heat in the lower gym, took everything out of me. I honestly felt sick and like I might pass out afterwards.

  I was going to skip dinner but started feeling better just before they called “chow”. I felt like crap for the rest of the day. I tried re-hydrating but it just wasn't enough. I laid in bed for the rest of the night until just after 10:00pm when I finished my book. My cellmate had the light turned out shortly after this and we went to sleep.

   I hope I don't go to a county jail......

   Until tomorrow....

 ~J. Doe

Prison Work Out - Razor Burning!

Written Thursday, February 3, 2011...

   Today the swamper came around after breakfast and made a Rec list, but I forgot to tell my cellmate that I had library passes for 7:30 AM. So, when 7:30 came and they yelled for everyone to make sure their bunks were neatly made and to step out quietly for library my cellmate had to rush and scramble to get it neatly in under a minute... Luckily we made it!

   Minutes after coming back to my cell, putting my shorts and Rec shoes on, we had Rec. Since Rec was canceled yesterday and I got a decent amount of rest I pushed myself harder than ever today. It felt great, not to mention the progress I'm starting to see. It's really addicting to me when I replaced my non-stop party lifestyle outside of prison, with the structured lifestyle inside prison and the few times you get to leave your cell... There isn't much to do other than work out. Once I started seeing the progress and feeling it too, I knew right away, it'd be hard to quit when I get out of prison.

   After Rec was over we got showers out of the day just in time for lunch. The swamper told me I would be last to take a shower (my cellmate and I) so I figured I'd have plenty of time to shave. Well, once I started hacking through all the thick stuff, I realized how dull my razor was, but there's no turning back now. So, I went at it when I realized we were about to shower in just a few minute.. I had to hurry! I go it mostly smooth but I ended up with some serious razor burn. After showers we went to lunch and WOW! My face was on fire!

   After lunch I decided to read a chapter in my book and take a nap. I woke up around 3:00 PM and asked if there was any mail, and apparently there was, just none for me.

  I read some more until dinner. After dinner I kept on with my reading. My cellmate was acting like an idiot as usual so, since he wanted to be loud rapping and shit, the 2^nd shift Sgt. said he wasn't letting anyone come out to help the swamper. I got stuck in my cell with the idiot all night. I think the light probably went off around 2:00 AM when he finally decided to go to sleep. I'm going to end up choking him to death soon if he doesn't leave!

Until tomorrow...

~J. Doe