Calvin called yesterday to inform me of today’s meeting with the new social worker. I asked him about his work. He is not following procedures regarding the meeting with his boss on Monday; he did not call us and so has neither formulated a response to the discussion, nor to her memo to him. He is not proactive. I checked my advice with Karaj which necessitated waking him up. Karaj agreed with me. I called Calvin back to tell him to stop fucking around.
Karaj told me later that I had woken him unnecessarily. ‘You need to know that you are doing well. I will tell you if you are wrong and it will be a learning point, nothing more. You are dealing well with people.’
This morning, Karaj talked to Simran about Calvin’s issue. Simran had not supported Calvin in any way, either by informing us of the situation or getting Calvin to inform us. Once again, he let Calvin down. Amazing. Later, Karaj and I spoke about moving on. Who needs the negativity of Dev, Simran, Calvin etc.? This afternoon I accompanied Calvin to the meeting. He did talk but left the usual pauses everywhere. The social worker seemed thorough in her approach to the case and committed to her work. She did not waste time. After the meeting I told Calvin he needs to take action.
WSG – The common theme was preparation. As I told everyone, ‘Don’t just come here to prepare, also prepare to come here.’ We addressed Ishwar’s issue with his dying father. Everyone commented on how important it is to say goodbye (Simran, Dev, Karaj, Kuldip, George never did). I had nothing to say but wanted to contribute to Ishwar. When I did, Karaj told me I dealt with the issue of my father the day I wrote the letter. I have said goodbye to him and the fact that he has not responded is his issue. That is clear to me now.
Kuldip shared the contribution Simran and Dev had made to him on Saturday: they showed him how he always got sacked from work because he tried to impress the managers who he thought were better than him.
Summary: Good support for Calvin and good presence in the WSG. And the fines are up and running. That is how to deal with negativity; full in the face. As Karaj said: ‘Create positivity and the negative people will leave you alone.’ After some thought, he added, ‘I’m glad the fines are out of the way. That is your hard work. You started here wondering what it was all about, but now you have a context to express yourself (shout) and you’re taking charge.’