I received my “K2: Awareness” completion certificate today. It is unbelievable the dangers that come from K2. I have heard that certain illegal drugs are may have some healing components, or even help some with calming themselves, but after listening and reading about K2 in this course, I would not believe that ANYONE, would still leave the class and continue with the drug. The course to me, helped me understand exactly what it is and where it comes from, and gave me more reason to stay away from K2.
I had an eventful day yesterday, as I had a callout for “Mailroom” to pick up some documents, then an hour later, a medical callout for “Tuberculosis” shot which will be checked again two days later. Luckily I was in and out of medical during the same 10-minute move, and made it back to the unit where I continued moving my property and mattress over to what is called, the “GlassHouse”.
From May 1, 2023 until September 11, 2024 I slept in the same 7×9 room, on the same bunk, eating out of the same locker, looking out the same window. I will say it was a well kept room with an excellent view of the compound, but after this past week where we were locked in for 7 days, a few moves were made, and buddy of mine, Mr. Garcia, asked if I would move in to his cubicle in the “GlassHouse”. “If you fail to plan, You plan to fail”, so I put together a Pros and Cons list, and sat with my roommate and others to make sure that whatever moves were made, everyone was left with a good roommate and was comfortable.
The “GlassHouse”, is a two-story section of G-Unit, that has its own showers, bathroom on each floor including three sinks and three toilets. Each room is separated by a 6-foot tall concrete block wall, and no doors. There are five televisions on the main floor in the center of the GlassHouse where everyone sets their chair throughout the day and all throughout the night to sit and watch movies, news, and anything else on cable television at that time, using our headsets and radios, so you can basically say this is an open concept unit, where there is more freedom than being locked behind a door every count, or during a lockdown, which allows me also possibility to speak with my family and friends whenever I can, and shower at any time of the day.
I made the decision to move in with Mr. Garcia. I moved all my stuff, and my mattress from G-unit, second floor, down the stairs, down some steps, down the hallway, into the GlassHouse, up the stairs, and into my room, by myself. When hauling over my last few bags, someone asks to help me, and then Mr. Campos sees me and says to me, “funny how you are always helping others without hesitating, but the minute you need help, no one is able to help you”. (I do not expect Mr. Campos to help me either because he is elderly and has several medical conditions). “It’s okay”, I told him, “it doesn’t bother me”.
After setting up 1pm religious services and assisting the Chaplains, I head back to the unit to finish accommodating my things. Later in the evening, I head back to the Chapel, to help the Rabbi Chaplain with his study session, and thank God I skipped dinner, because it began pouring rain on everyone walking to the dining room.
Last night was the first night I was able to finally watch television past the nightly lockdown thanks to being in the GlassHouse. I stayed up late to watch the 11pm Telemundo News just to tell myself I stayed past bedtime. I head upstairs to my cubicle/room and get into bed. This environment is completely new to me, so I laid there for about half an hour before a stomach ache kicked in and sent me to the bathroom.
I was awake by 6am due to the noise, but somehow fell back asleep until 7am. I got up, went over to the bathroom, washed up, and got dressed, ready for the day. Not much happened this morning in the Chapel, so I planned a few things with the Chaplains, cleaned the office windows, setup the sign-in sheet for the afternoon rabbi volunteer visit, then headed back to the unit to get ready for the lunch move.
Mr. Rivero is ready to go, I pull his wheelchair out of his room, and by coincidence they call “CHOW”, so we head to the dining room. The chicken on the bone we got today was not too bad. I enjoyed the chicken and the green beans, trying my hardest to stick to a diet, but they also gave us a shortbread cookie which I ate, then the guy sitting next to me gave me his cookie and it would have been disrespectful to not accept it. It’s okay, that was my treat for the day. After lunch and dropping off Mr. Rivero in the unit, I grab my things and head out to the Chapel. On my way there I am stopped by someone who asked if I could return to the unit with him to help him and translate a conversation he wanted to have with our case manager. Back into the unit I go, and once I finish helping him, I hurry over to the main door to try and get back to the Chapel, and I am lucky enough to be let out.
Mr. Escudero meets me at the Chapel as he wants to see a movie in the small televisions, so I set him up with a movie named “Courageous”, connect his headphones, start the movie, and I take his identification to fill out the log. Nearing 1pm, the chaplain heads to the lobby and returns with the rabbi volunteer, as the Jewish community arrives at the chapel for their service.
I return to the unit at 2pm after the service, and call my dad, say my hello’s, talk about the lousy Marlins, the evening Dolphins v. Bills game, and later grab a cup of coffee. After 4pm count, Mr. Campos has a chicken soup ready to go for me, I sit in his room, grab the bowl of soup, pour some jalapeno sauce, and enjoy the soup so much, he gives me a little more. It is then I find out, Mr. Rivero was the one to prepare the soup, Mr. Campos only “cooked” it. I began a new class today by the name of “Ultimate Edge”, it is lead by another AIC (Adult in Custody), and seems very interesting, we had an introduction to the class for an hour, and were then all sent back to our units, where I showered, then helped someone fill out some papers he did not understand.
I took a little longer than normal to call mom, as I called her at 8:43pm, which did not give me time to later call my sister. Then I sat to watch television and enjoy the rest of the evening as best I could. They just counted, and counted again, then wheeled an AIC over to medical since he was not responding to the officer during count since he was…..Yes you guessed it, passed out due to the K2. It is truly incredibly unbelievable, but for people like him, we just need to pray and hope that God takes the wheel because as much as we try and help him, he continues to go back to it.
It ends here for today. Hope it was not too much to bore you.
Dear Lord, thank you as always for everything you do. Thank you for guiding me, protecting me, and placing me where I need to be at all times. I will never veer off your path again dear God. I pray for the AIC to return safe and healthy and that this was enough of a sign for him to remain drug free. I pray for a good night tonight, and that you will allow me to wake up tomorrow to a new day full of new challenges and possible adventures. In your name Jesus I pray. Amen.