TherapyThursday with Laurie Watter and Jordan Spektor
Laurie Watter:
Hi everybody. It’s Laurie Watter, director of family relations for All Points North Lodge, coming to you today for Therapy Thursday. I have a great guest today. I call it East meets West since I’m in Jersey and he’s out in California.
Laurie Watter:
And I also have to say, I have my grandson with me from Florida. So I am just got my fingers crossed that I will actually get through this unscathed. I’m not sure that that will happen, but this is kind of all part of COVID. Every week I feel like there’s another COVID rationale.
Laurie Watter:
I see that Jordan is on, so he just needs to connect with the accept. Let’s see if I can catch him this way. And we’re just waiting for Jordan to pop on. One of my favorite humans. There he is.
Jordan Spektor:
Hi, Laurie.
Laurie Watter:
Hi, how are you?
Jordan Spektor:
Good. How are you? It’s good to see you.
Laurie Watter:
Good. I’m so happy to see your face.
Jordan Spektor:
Yeah.
Laurie Watter:
I feel like this is, I don’t know, I guess it’s a great way just to bring everybody together a little bit. It feels like you’re much closer when you’re on here.
Jordan Spektor:
Yeah. Well, thanks for having me. This is my first Instagram Live. It’s actually the first time I’ve been on Instagram in probably four or five years. So I’m a little Insta-rusty.
Laurie Watter:
And I am still getting prepped every week on how to make this happen effectively.
Jordan Spektor:
Yeah.
Laurie Watter:
I mean, this is solely about just checking in with people in the world that I care about. And I totally care about you guys. I mean, not just you, but the whole team at PACE and Rising Roads.
Laurie Watter:
And for people that don’t know that I worked with this team, so I know how amazing they are behind the scenes as well as in front of the scenes. So it’s good to see your face today.
Jordan Spektor:
Yeah, thanks. I’m smiling ear to ear, and I think I would only accept this from you. So, happy to be here. I see Jimmy Hamm is here. You can see at the bottom, everyone is commenting.
Laurie Watter:
I know. It’s kind of cool.
Jordan Spektor:
Yeah, yeah.
Laurie Watter:
But I know that… I mean, of course, I love just having you. I also know that we have somebody that’s going to your program. So I feel like this is very timely.
Jordan Spektor:
Yes.
Laurie Watter:
And I feel so good about that, because I do love you guys and I do love the work that you do, and the way you support men in recovery, as well as the ladies over at Rising Roads. I have to totally give them a shout out as well, because…
Jordan Spektor:
Well, because they’re here. They’re repping right now. And the men at PACE are probably ordering some sort of food right now and distracted.
Laurie Watter:
Oh.
Jordan Spektor:
Yeah, yeah.
Laurie Watter:
Wait, hold on one second, Cookie. I also say there are so many things that are happening in your life.
Jordan Spektor:
Yes, yes.
Laurie Watter:
MBA.
Jordan Spektor:
Yes. So first I’ll say, I’m Jordan Spektor. And if you didn’t garner from the conversation so far, I work as director of business development for PACE and Rising Roads. PACE is extended care for men, 18 to 30, in Orange County. And Rising Roads is female extended care, also in Orange County. Yes, thank you, Becky.
Laurie Watter:
Yeah, right.
Jordan Spektor:
Yeah, and so I wanted to start off by that. I’ve been working in the field for probably seven or eight years. And yeah, so when you bring up the MBA, I think where my head kind of goes is where I was around nine, 10 years ago when I was beginning my recovery journey.
Jordan Spektor:
It’s so interesting. 2020 has been the craziest year, I know that I can remember, and even my parents and my grandparents can remember. So I know that this has been just a crazy year. And for me, this has probably been the best year of my life.
Jordan Spektor:
Which is great. I’m not complaining about it, but it’s an interesting time for me because we were supposed… So when I first got sober, I think, between when I went to rehab and when I was kind of yanked out of my environment, I went home for about nine months to my parents’ house, which was just a very, very bad move.
Jordan Spektor:
But at the beginning of that, my dad said, What do you want?
Laurie Watter:
Not because it’s your parents’ house.
Jordan Spektor:
No, just because I should have been in rehab earlier. But what ended up happening was my dad took me to… He said, “What do you want to do?” And I said, “I want to get my MBA.” So he took me to Barnes and Nobles, which was a thing back then. And we went and got MBA books, and then followed by my prescription of Adderall and Xanax.
Jordan Spektor:
So it was a dream of mine from the very beginning, ever since I graduated from college, to get my MBA. But obviously, there were other things that took priority, and that was messing around and drugging, drinking, and doing things that I shouldn’t have been doing.
Jordan Spektor:
And so now, fast-forward to 2018, when I applied to go to school, it was monumental for me because… Some people have different dreams. Like I know people want to be in the NBA or actors or things like that. Speaking of actors, my brother just joined, so that’s cool. For me, though, it was getting my MBA was a really, really important thing for me.
Jordan Spektor:
And so I went back to school. I applied, got in, ended up with a 4.0, which is just crazy to think about. Because when I sent them my transcript, it was like a reverse downhill slope when I was an undergrad at USC.
Jordan Spektor:
Then to know that if I was clean and sober, and this is what we try to tell our guys who are younger, is, if you just stay clean and sober and show up, you can do amazing things. And, that’s what I did. I just showed up, went to every class, did all my work, and then look at what happened.
Jordan Spektor:
2020 was supposed to be this huge thing. We were going to all go to Denver, my family, watch me walk, which obviously got canceled. So when I did graduate, I was thinking to myself, I really want to celebrate this on Facebook, but it was during the riots, and COVID-19, and it was just such a tumultuous time. I was going to not post anything.
Jordan Spektor:
Luckily, Brittany, who I think is on here, talked me into to sharing that post. I’m really happy I did it because it was a huge accomplishment. And then-
Laurie Watter:
It was a feel-good moment. Honestly. You have so many people in the world that love you, and so when that came out, it really… I felt like people all over the country were sharing in your joy.
Jordan Spektor:
Yeah.
Laurie Watter:
I mean, I know that I saw how hard you worked, just in your schoolwork and in your professional life.
Jordan Spektor:
Thank you.
Laurie Watter:
So it really was a good feeling to see that.
Jordan Spektor:
Thank you, Laurie. And then when you look back on it, it was basically going to… When we were out working together, or separately and seeing each other on the road, and all that stuff, it was, you go, you work, and then you come back and write papers until the middle of the night. Now, the last quarter was just at home the whole time.
Jordan Spektor:
It’s just so amazing to me how much the world has changed, just based on the fact that there was so much going on before, and now, it’s just so much different. So I’m happy that I finished when I did because it’s definitely…
Jordan Spektor:
Because the last quarter I took a class, an independent study on how COVID-19 affects [inaudible 00:08:04] business health systems and the US population. So we were writing that during the actual outbreak, and I think that that was also pretty heavy. Because I would go from, “Oh my God, we’re never going to come back from this,” to, “Well, there’s a promise.” And so it was…,
Laurie Watter:
A little bit of promise.
Jordan Spektor:
It was a fun time, yeah.
Laurie Watter:
Yeah, no, that’s great. And you mentioned that Brittany posted those pictures and celebrated that day. Tell us about that little ray of sunshine.
Jordan Spektor:
Yes, she is amazing. I’m very lucky to be with her. We got together when I was in the middle of my MBA. And so, I was telling her, “I don’t have that much time,” and she didn’t really mind that, which was great. Our relationship really flourished, because she moved in, and then we’ve been quarantined together since March. We get along very well, which is a really good sign.
Jordan Spektor:
So I think, where a lot of people were quarantined with… When we were researching the virus, the divorce rates were going up, domestic violence was going up, all of these things from people quarantined together. Luckily for us, it was literally the exact opposite. We got closer. And so for us, the actual quarantine turned out to be a very good thing.
Jordan Spektor:
I always thought in my head that I would propose to her after I got my MBA. So, got my MBA, and then a month later proposed to her during the quarantine. Which was supposed to be up in Seattle, on Whidbey Island with my family, and that got canceled. And getting a ring during coronavirus is very hard to do, because you’re trapped next to the person.
Jordan Spektor:
So the element of surprise was not as much as I wanted it to be, but I still was able to pull off a surprise in our house. And so now we’re engaged, and it’s pretty amazing.
Laurie Watter:
I do remember, and I think we were driving around the Newport Beach area when you were talking to me about Brittany and how you said you kind of can’t believe that this amazing woman loves you so much.
Jordan Spektor:
Yes. I know.
Laurie Watter:
And it was just like, “Oh my God.” So my husband and I have kind of this joke, no joke, but we talk about individuals who are son-in-law material. And I would say, Jordan Spektor, you are really son-in-law material.
Jordan Spektor:
Thank you.
Laurie Watter:
So the idea that she loves you so much, is pretty clear to me. You really are a spectacular human.
Jordan Spektor:
Thank you. I appreciate that, Laurie. I think that I’ve always had it in me. If you ask my family, I think I’m back to how I was in high school, which was just my true self. You know, people go adrift. And so it hasn’t always been like this, but I feel great to be living in integrity and authenticity, and just being my true self, which is nice. So thank you for saying that.
Jordan Spektor:
I love her family. They’re amazing, too. It’s been nice to be able to see them during quarantine because my parents are up in Seattle. My dad is literally walking around in a hazmat suit, so he’s not necessarily letting outsiders in yet. When we get him to that point, it’ll be great to see him at some point.
Jordan Spektor:
But it’s so weird. I mean, no engagement parties. No toasts. We’re trying to plan a wedding, but it’s just like, when will this end? Is it going to be 30 people? Is it going to be…
Jordan Spektor:
As you know, we love to throw big weddings in our culture. And so those are a thing of the past, you know? Everything is changing, so we’ll see what happens. But it’s all very exciting.
Laurie Watter:
It is. It’s really great. And it’s wonderful to watch your little love affair blossom on Facebook. Because she’s adorable, and you do look really happy together.
Jordan Spektor:
Yeah. Thank you.
Laurie Watter:
And tell me what’s new in PACE and Rising Roads? Anything-
Jordan Spektor:
Well, I see that Kimiko, Kristen, and Becky are here, which is great.
Laurie Watter:
Hold on, babes.
Jordan Spektor:
They’re a true support system. But so, wow, what’s new at PACE? I think with PACE and Rising Roads, I think the biggest…
Jordan Spektor:
So, obviously during COVID-19, it’s very hard to do anything. And so I think our biggest challenge, and our biggest success is that we’ve just done what we had to do to make a job that was already hard… It got 10 times harder, and I think that everyone’s just doubled down on safety and support and things like that.
Jordan Spektor:
We’re abiding by the CDC guidelines. We’ve changed the actual programming so that the groups are smaller, and everything is safer. So right now, I think it’s the time to just double down on what we’re doing.
Jordan Spektor:
And Rising Roads has added an amazing school program, actually run by a great case manager named Chelsea Gatdula. You may have heard the name before.
Laurie Watter:
Sounds familiar.
Jordan Spektor:
</>Yeah, and so they’re doing amazing things. The girls are in there going to school. Rising Roads has actually expanded a lot in the last few months, and they’re doing amazing work. We’re both hiring more staff because there’s a need for our clients to have more support, so we’ve got some great new therapists.
Jordan Spektor:
Yeah, I mean, I think instead of adding houses, we’re adding services. And I think that that’s really important at this time. Because it got hairy back there. There was a couple of weeks where the phones were dead, and we thought to ourselves, “All of our clients come from out of state, they’re going to shut down the airlines.” So I think just making sure that we’re dialed-in as programs are the most important thing now.
Laurie Watter:
Yeah. And I also have a young lady that’s over at Rising Roads. What I really love about both of the programs, is the communication, and the updates, and just staying in touch with the reference that got the clients there.
Laurie Watter:
When I make a referral to you guys, I really feel confident that they’re in very good hands at the reassurance, just reading the notes… Not so much that I’m questioning whether they’re in good hands, but reading about their progress, it’s just wonderful.
Jordan Spektor:
They’re doing some cool stuff, and I don’t want to say that we’re copying Rising Roads, because if Lenny ever hears that we’re copying Rising Roads he’ll say that they copied him. But they’ve been doing Zoom sessions with the families for two years now. We’ve had our family program, which I think…
Laurie Watter:
Hi, Kathy.
Jordan Spektor:
I think family programs everywhere have kind of gone virtual, but they’ve been doing Zoom sessions with clients, with the families, therapy sessions. And I think we’ve moved in that direction as well. Just because, who knows the next time you can have an in-person family program.
Laurie Watter:
Right.
Jordan Spektor:
So they were prepared for this in that regard from the very beginning. Also, Kristen’s here. We’ve had to pick up clients from nearby programs. And if they go on a plane, they have to come out, quarantine, test, the whole thing.
Jordan Spektor:
So we’ve been actually going to nearby places and picking up clients who are coming into our program from Utah or Arizona, at no charge to the family. And Kristen has gotten her amazing car out on the road, and she’s been doing pickups. So we’ve been adjusting, and doing everything we can to keep everyone safe everywhere.
Jordan Spektor:
Because as an owner, and I’m sure Becky can agree with this, her hardest part of going to sleep at night is just praying that the virus doesn’t get to her girls or whoever around the program. And so we’re doing everything we can to prevent that from happening.
Laurie Watter:
Yeah. I absolutely believe that and…paused it for a second.
Jordan Spektor:
I might have stopped it. I don’t know.
Laurie Watter:
No, my husband was calling. My husband was calling, my grandson is calling me. I go, this is real COVID life.
Laurie Watter:
But I am so happy that you came on with me. Please send my love to Lenny, and Becky, and Kristen, and all the women at Rising Roads. All the staff at PACE. You guys are amazing. I miss your faces. I’m so happy your life is so beautiful. You so deserve it.
Jordan Spektor:
Thank you. Thank you for having me.
Laurie Watter:
Good to see you.
Jordan Spektor:
And yeah, this was a fun first Instagram Live experience.
Laurie Watter:
You did awesome. Take care. Bye.
