It's come to my attention at least a few different times that I could probably stand to change the name of this blog.
The only question is... What would I change it to?
(Any/all suggestions welcome)
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Out of Oz?
In the last, oh, week or so I finally got around to reading Out of Oz, the fourth (and final!) book in "the Wicked Years".
I'm only about a third of the way through with it, but I'm really enjoying it.
I should probably have prefaced that with saying that I am a HUUUUUUGE weenie and that the third book (A Lion Among Men) creeped the bajeezus out of me with Mother Yackle...
I can't believe that I'm finally getting a chance to read it. I almost wasn't sure, just because of the creep factor of the third one. And it's been so long since I'd read any of the Wicked Years (probably because of the creep factor which, let's be honest, was present in the other books, too!).
Anyway, if you're looking for a good read... Start from the beginning. And I don't just mean the beginning of Out of Oz, I mean from the beginning of Wicked. It all does a great job of working together, and without the other books you'd likely be pretty confused just jumping into Out of Oz. Which might make you feel like you're in Oz... Or just a country way out of your comfort zone/knowledgeability.
If you have read it, how'd you like it?
If you have... You should ;) Enjoy!
I'm only about a third of the way through with it, but I'm really enjoying it.
I should probably have prefaced that with saying that I am a HUUUUUUGE weenie and that the third book (A Lion Among Men) creeped the bajeezus out of me with Mother Yackle...
I can't believe that I'm finally getting a chance to read it. I almost wasn't sure, just because of the creep factor of the third one. And it's been so long since I'd read any of the Wicked Years (probably because of the creep factor which, let's be honest, was present in the other books, too!).
Anyway, if you're looking for a good read... Start from the beginning. And I don't just mean the beginning of Out of Oz, I mean from the beginning of Wicked. It all does a great job of working together, and without the other books you'd likely be pretty confused just jumping into Out of Oz. Which might make you feel like you're in Oz... Or just a country way out of your comfort zone/knowledgeability.
If you have read it, how'd you like it?
If you have... You should ;) Enjoy!
Monday, October 22, 2012
Can you tutu?
The 5K-ake Challenge inspired me to try something a little different: making a tutu.
I know my lovely running buddy and I were looking at getting tutus for the Princess Half in February, but then I decided I could just as easily make them! I found the perfect tulle for them, too!
(Does a tutu count as "running gear"? Lol)
Unfortunately it was a bit pricey to buy the tulle I REALLY wanted, so I decided to wait on the colors (that and she doesn't know if she wants to be Rapunzel or Belle) and instead just picked up a couple small rolls (bolts? spools?) of tulle in a light purple and a light blue. I figured I might as well test it out, see how much work is involved.
After some online hunting, I finally found a website ([url=http://bebehblog.com/the-most-unnecessary-craft-tutorial-ever-baby-tutu/]Bebehblog[/url]) that showed some knots that seemed to work well, much sturdier than other knots I've seen for these things... And would NOT involve sewing or glue or anything.
So I watched Prince of Persia and the Tangled, and from about the last half-ish of Prince of Persia and the first half of Tangled I decided to get to work!
It was more time-consuming than I would have thought, getting the tulle cut and all. Also, I used 50 yards of tulle (AKA two 25-yard rolls) and ended up with it about 19", where it can be scrunched or spread out to accommodate age/size.
And so I made a baby tutu! (Or toddler, take your pick)
All in all, I think it turned out rather nicely :) now I kinda want to go make more!
(Before I forget, since we're on the subject of crafty things... Can you melt/flatten a glass bottle in a regular oven?? I've heard yeses and I've heard a whooooole lot of no's, so I'm not sure. Any input on this would be greatly appreciated!)
I know my lovely running buddy and I were looking at getting tutus for the Princess Half in February, but then I decided I could just as easily make them! I found the perfect tulle for them, too!
(Does a tutu count as "running gear"? Lol)
Unfortunately it was a bit pricey to buy the tulle I REALLY wanted, so I decided to wait on the colors (that and she doesn't know if she wants to be Rapunzel or Belle) and instead just picked up a couple small rolls (bolts? spools?) of tulle in a light purple and a light blue. I figured I might as well test it out, see how much work is involved.
After some online hunting, I finally found a website ([url=http://bebehblog.com/the-most-unnecessary-craft-tutorial-ever-baby-tutu/]Bebehblog[/url]) that showed some knots that seemed to work well, much sturdier than other knots I've seen for these things... And would NOT involve sewing or glue or anything.
So I watched Prince of Persia and the Tangled, and from about the last half-ish of Prince of Persia and the first half of Tangled I decided to get to work!
It was more time-consuming than I would have thought, getting the tulle cut and all. Also, I used 50 yards of tulle (AKA two 25-yard rolls) and ended up with it about 19", where it can be scrunched or spread out to accommodate age/size.
And so I made a baby tutu! (Or toddler, take your pick)
All in all, I think it turned out rather nicely :) now I kinda want to go make more!
(Before I forget, since we're on the subject of crafty things... Can you melt/flatten a glass bottle in a regular oven?? I've heard yeses and I've heard a whooooole lot of no's, so I'm not sure. Any input on this would be greatly appreciated!)
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Jones Bros. 5K-ake Challenge!
Our trio (the hubs, a friend, and I) did our 5K-ake Challenge today. Had a mini cupcake every mile!
I'm disappointed because we ended up walking the majority of it instead of running the majority of it... We finished in about 52:45.
I think my husband has learned the importance of eating something light at least half an hour prior to a run.
Yes, I just rolled my eyes. But now he knows, and he's thought about the change to make as far as running the Royal Family 5K at Disney.
Let's see... My first mini cupcake was vanilla with vanilla frosting. Second was red velvet with cream cheese frosting. The last one was chocolate on chocolate... I kinda wish I'd gotten the strawberries and cream cupcake :D Either way, the cupcakes were tasty.
The run itself was definitely an experience. They didn't expect over 600 people to sign up (over 700, actually, judging by the bib numbers) so we started in waves of 100... Although all strollers were in the last wave, and people were allowed to switch waves if their friends were in different ones. Fun, yes, but also disappointing.
Since we were the 12-14 people who's registered, we were in the first wave. I have to say, I am SO glad there were different waves. 100 people, give or take, jostling through at the beginning? Not fun... I can't imagine multiplying that by 6+!!!! And we went over a couple bridges on the trail that were NOT designed for a bunch of people to run on. I ran across it just to get OFF of it, seeing as it was bouncing a bit!
I wish I'd thought to get my phone from DH to do more than check out distance/time, since I'd left my Nike+ SportWatch GPS at home. We ran under a couple bridges of some main streets, and there was some nicely-done graffiti down there!
Mind you, I lack the necessary artistry for anything remotely close to that (never mind the legality of it). DH also pointed out that someone put "Repent" in graffiti on one of the bridges.
Let's see... Getting the point across in graffiti... Committing a misdemeanor, potentially something morally objectable(?), to do it... Hmm... (At least, I think it's just a misdemeanor).
I wish I could remember some of the conversations that we heard; they were quite humorous!
Then again, we were talking about zombies since at the beginning someone had mentioned the Zombies, Run! app.
Goal for Disney: pick up the pace. We have to do a 16:00 mile or less. I've been training at about a 13:00-14:00 mile. Not fast, but faster than I would be going otherwise!
It was so disheartening to see people from wave 6 passing us with ease. We were decimated by multiple jogging strollers!
Of course, as my dad told me when I talked to him post-race, at least we were out there.
AND DH and I dropped 2.5-3 minutes off of the 5K we walked in April.
Always look on the bright side of life! (What IS that from??)
Until Disney, there's a 4-mile Halloween Fun Run next Tuesday (the 30th) so I'm looking forward to doing that and seeing what changes I can make :) and like today, they're not going to be picky about your pace.
Funny bit: we ran the last, oh, .15mi of the run to make it look like we'd really been running. It was hilarious. And my friend's mom was quite the amazing cheerleader, yelling for us as everybody just stared and waited for us to hurry up.
She said something along the lines of "Oh, you guys must've run so hard!" And my friend went "Ha, LIE!"
Anyway, here's a picture of us at the halfway point :D
I'm disappointed because we ended up walking the majority of it instead of running the majority of it... We finished in about 52:45.
I think my husband has learned the importance of eating something light at least half an hour prior to a run.
Yes, I just rolled my eyes. But now he knows, and he's thought about the change to make as far as running the Royal Family 5K at Disney.
Let's see... My first mini cupcake was vanilla with vanilla frosting. Second was red velvet with cream cheese frosting. The last one was chocolate on chocolate... I kinda wish I'd gotten the strawberries and cream cupcake :D Either way, the cupcakes were tasty.
The run itself was definitely an experience. They didn't expect over 600 people to sign up (over 700, actually, judging by the bib numbers) so we started in waves of 100... Although all strollers were in the last wave, and people were allowed to switch waves if their friends were in different ones. Fun, yes, but also disappointing.
Since we were the 12-14 people who's registered, we were in the first wave. I have to say, I am SO glad there were different waves. 100 people, give or take, jostling through at the beginning? Not fun... I can't imagine multiplying that by 6+!!!! And we went over a couple bridges on the trail that were NOT designed for a bunch of people to run on. I ran across it just to get OFF of it, seeing as it was bouncing a bit!
I wish I'd thought to get my phone from DH to do more than check out distance/time, since I'd left my Nike+ SportWatch GPS at home. We ran under a couple bridges of some main streets, and there was some nicely-done graffiti down there!
Mind you, I lack the necessary artistry for anything remotely close to that (never mind the legality of it). DH also pointed out that someone put "Repent" in graffiti on one of the bridges.
Let's see... Getting the point across in graffiti... Committing a misdemeanor, potentially something morally objectable(?), to do it... Hmm... (At least, I think it's just a misdemeanor).
I wish I could remember some of the conversations that we heard; they were quite humorous!
Then again, we were talking about zombies since at the beginning someone had mentioned the Zombies, Run! app.
Goal for Disney: pick up the pace. We have to do a 16:00 mile or less. I've been training at about a 13:00-14:00 mile. Not fast, but faster than I would be going otherwise!
It was so disheartening to see people from wave 6 passing us with ease. We were decimated by multiple jogging strollers!
Of course, as my dad told me when I talked to him post-race, at least we were out there.
AND DH and I dropped 2.5-3 minutes off of the 5K we walked in April.
Always look on the bright side of life! (What IS that from??)
Until Disney, there's a 4-mile Halloween Fun Run next Tuesday (the 30th) so I'm looking forward to doing that and seeing what changes I can make :) and like today, they're not going to be picky about your pace.
Funny bit: we ran the last, oh, .15mi of the run to make it look like we'd really been running. It was hilarious. And my friend's mom was quite the amazing cheerleader, yelling for us as everybody just stared and waited for us to hurry up.
She said something along the lines of "Oh, you guys must've run so hard!" And my friend went "Ha, LIE!"
Anyway, here's a picture of us at the halfway point :D
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
When life gives you lemonade...
Make lemons and wonder what the heck just happened.
:)
Our 5K (the one with the mini cupcakes) is coming up this weekend... I haven't gone running in about a week and a half. It seems that when I find/make the time, I lack the motivation. What a joke, right? But I've been working at this since March, so there's gotta be something there.
In the meantime, the hubs and I have been house-hunting. We found one that he really likes and that would be a good compromise for the two of us... Now comes the nightmare of getting pre-approved! It's FAR more expensive than we'd ever planned (at least, more than *I* had ever planned...) but it makes up for it in location, schools, etc.
So basically, we'll see.
We called our bank regarding pre-approval, but our realtor had warned us that they're VERY conservative regarding their conventional loans, and not to expect much.
Well, conservative, yes, but the guy on the phone was kind of awkward and even a little rude. And it took him a while to even understand us!
Looks like we're trying another one (a number our realtor had given us) who can hopefully tell us more about where we're at right now and what it'll take to get us where we need to be for that house.
I'll be honest, I don't have my heart set on that house. But I don't really have it set on ANY house. However, my husband loves this house... With good reason, but I'm still not sold. We'll see.
:)
Our 5K (the one with the mini cupcakes) is coming up this weekend... I haven't gone running in about a week and a half. It seems that when I find/make the time, I lack the motivation. What a joke, right? But I've been working at this since March, so there's gotta be something there.
In the meantime, the hubs and I have been house-hunting. We found one that he really likes and that would be a good compromise for the two of us... Now comes the nightmare of getting pre-approved! It's FAR more expensive than we'd ever planned (at least, more than *I* had ever planned...) but it makes up for it in location, schools, etc.
So basically, we'll see.
We called our bank regarding pre-approval, but our realtor had warned us that they're VERY conservative regarding their conventional loans, and not to expect much.
Well, conservative, yes, but the guy on the phone was kind of awkward and even a little rude. And it took him a while to even understand us!
Looks like we're trying another one (a number our realtor had given us) who can hopefully tell us more about where we're at right now and what it'll take to get us where we need to be for that house.
I'll be honest, I don't have my heart set on that house. But I don't really have it set on ANY house. However, my husband loves this house... With good reason, but I'm still not sold. We'll see.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Getting the Message Across
Well, other than running a few hours ago, it'd been about 5 or 6 days since my last run.
My Nike+ SportWatch GPS didn't hesitate to let me know.
Only this time I remembered to take a picture of it!
That is all :)
(Yes, the whole purpose of this post was to share that picture. Enjoy! Haha)
My Nike+ SportWatch GPS didn't hesitate to let me know.
Only this time I remembered to take a picture of it!
That is all :)
(Yes, the whole purpose of this post was to share that picture. Enjoy! Haha)
Expect the Unexpected
I remember when I first started running back in March. Things went awesome the first couple days of my 5K Runner App. It was kinda easy, awesome to know that I could do it, and it was kinda fun and definitely exciting.
Then it got harder.
"Well, duh," you say. "If this you're really a first-time runner, chances are it'll be hard."
I think the biggest challenge I had (other than the challenge of getting the motivation to get my butt up and out the door, which I still face!), it was my legs itching like CRAZY!
After a bit of the itchy legs, I decided to look it up. Then I found this little gem: Embarrassing Running Problems. It covered not only the itchy legs but also things that I didn't know. Or things that, when looking back, make a lot of sense! (See number 3: Runner's Trots... Insert inappropriate joke here about "going number three")
There were also things that I didn't expect. One of the things that isn't listed... My arms itched! My ARMS, people! But of course, if you have arms then chances are that they're involved in your running, too. Not quite as important as your legs, but still pretty important. I know mine are. They play a big part of my personal running form, that is, the form that keeps me feeling and moving the best that I can.
But holy geez, the thing that I really wasn't expecting... Was the nasty abdominal cramps.
Yeah, yeah, I know, I mentioned "runner's trots". And if you run or at least read up on running and/or know a good deal about the body, chances are you know about them, too.
But these cramps... These are NOT what you find under the usual definition of "runner's trots", because it's definitely *just* cramps... But let's face it, I don't like ANY kind of cramps, whether it's in the legs, sides, or related to my menstrual cycle. It's just not fun.
It's always post-run, although that could be because my average runs are about 3.5-4 miles at this point.
I can't even describe just how freaked out I am at the possibility that my current "post-run" cramps may turn into "mid-run" cramps when I hit up the longer run times/distances. I just can't.
On that note, it seems that my current post-run cramps are finally easing up, all of 2 hours post-run. I'm off to check out possible solutions for said cramps, and see if they're related to things I'm doing daily that I could change. Or if I just need to take something for it.
On the bonus side, I know it's not from Gatorade.but I'm pretty sure there's no going back to that. Especially not mentally, just because I keep remembering the pain. Oh, the horror...
That's all for now! :D
Then it got harder.
"Well, duh," you say. "If this you're really a first-time runner, chances are it'll be hard."
I think the biggest challenge I had (other than the challenge of getting the motivation to get my butt up and out the door, which I still face!), it was my legs itching like CRAZY!
After a bit of the itchy legs, I decided to look it up. Then I found this little gem: Embarrassing Running Problems. It covered not only the itchy legs but also things that I didn't know. Or things that, when looking back, make a lot of sense! (See number 3: Runner's Trots... Insert inappropriate joke here about "going number three")
There were also things that I didn't expect. One of the things that isn't listed... My arms itched! My ARMS, people! But of course, if you have arms then chances are that they're involved in your running, too. Not quite as important as your legs, but still pretty important. I know mine are. They play a big part of my personal running form, that is, the form that keeps me feeling and moving the best that I can.
But holy geez, the thing that I really wasn't expecting... Was the nasty abdominal cramps.
Yeah, yeah, I know, I mentioned "runner's trots". And if you run or at least read up on running and/or know a good deal about the body, chances are you know about them, too.
But these cramps... These are NOT what you find under the usual definition of "runner's trots", because it's definitely *just* cramps... But let's face it, I don't like ANY kind of cramps, whether it's in the legs, sides, or related to my menstrual cycle. It's just not fun.
It's always post-run, although that could be because my average runs are about 3.5-4 miles at this point.
I can't even describe just how freaked out I am at the possibility that my current "post-run" cramps may turn into "mid-run" cramps when I hit up the longer run times/distances. I just can't.
On that note, it seems that my current post-run cramps are finally easing up, all of 2 hours post-run. I'm off to check out possible solutions for said cramps, and see if they're related to things I'm doing daily that I could change. Or if I just need to take something for it.
On the bonus side, I know it's not from Gatorade.but I'm pretty sure there's no going back to that. Especially not mentally, just because I keep remembering the pain. Oh, the horror...
That's all for now! :D
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Cooking Experiment: Craisin Banana Pancakes
As I mentioned in my previous post, today is my last day with a client I've had for just over two years. So today I decided to try something different for breakfast in the hopes that she'd like it. And whaddya know, she did! :D
I used a recipe from Food Network's website as a starter, and I modified it from there.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/banana-pancakes-recipe/index.html
I had:
- 1 1/2 cups of flour
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/4 cup buttermilk (probably a bit more... There was no milk...)
- approx. 3 tbsp melted I Can't Believe It's Not Butter
- 2 ripe bananas
- approx. 1 cup of Craisins, possibly more
I mixed everything together except for the bananas, put the batter in the pan and then pressed in a couple banana slices.
If you mix a few banana slices into the batter it's no big deal. I just tried to avoid it so the banana slices weren't sticking together in the pancakes.
I'm horrible at flipping pancakes, but I still managed to do it alright! And I turned off the pan and rinsed/wiped it out between pancakes, otherwise I'd have burned the later ones. LOL.
But she (my client) liked them, the granddaughter said they smelled great (I'm glad she didn't ask if something was burning! Haha) and I tried one later (I like to try new things I make for my client to make sure they're good) and it was tasty!!!
I topped off the pancakes with a little bit of honey, and they were great! :)
The first picture is the first pancake I made after getting it in the pan and pressing in the banana slices. The second picture is the plate if extra pancakes.
:D
I used a recipe from Food Network's website as a starter, and I modified it from there.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/banana-pancakes-recipe/index.html
I had:
- 1 1/2 cups of flour
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/4 cup buttermilk (probably a bit more... There was no milk...)
- approx. 3 tbsp melted I Can't Believe It's Not Butter
- 2 ripe bananas
- approx. 1 cup of Craisins, possibly more
I mixed everything together except for the bananas, put the batter in the pan and then pressed in a couple banana slices.
If you mix a few banana slices into the batter it's no big deal. I just tried to avoid it so the banana slices weren't sticking together in the pancakes.
I'm horrible at flipping pancakes, but I still managed to do it alright! And I turned off the pan and rinsed/wiped it out between pancakes, otherwise I'd have burned the later ones. LOL.
But she (my client) liked them, the granddaughter said they smelled great (I'm glad she didn't ask if something was burning! Haha) and I tried one later (I like to try new things I make for my client to make sure they're good) and it was tasty!!!
I topped off the pancakes with a little bit of honey, and they were great! :)
The first picture is the first pancake I made after getting it in the pan and pressing in the banana slices. The second picture is the plate if extra pancakes.
:D
Ranting & Raving.
I'm so glad this week is over.
Heads up, this is long. Kudos to anyone who makes it through.
It's been one stressful day after the next... I just need to take a moment to get it off my chest.
I've been doing in-home senior care for just under 2.5 years now. I've had the same client for just over two years.
While on a break between school portrait retakes and a group photo on Wednesday I got a call saying that there was a bit of a change and to call back the office when I got a chance.
Turns out my client is moving and my last day is to be Sunday - THIS Sunday. As in tomorrow.
Meanwhile, I'm roaming around the school grounds, gathering ideas for the perfect class picture. I had a bunch of ideas. On the school sign, on different areas of the playground...
Get outside with the kids, and the teacher just axes all of my awesome ideas because "maybe with another group, you understand."
Uh, no, not really. Could you explain? Because I waited an hour and a half between MAYBE 10 retakes and being able to take a group picture, just to get everybody in this one spot.
But... I didn't say that. I just smiled and nodded like I got it.
At least I have some ideas for some playground shots to look for at other playgrounds.
Then Thursday... Oh, Thursday was a PAIN. I was trying to finish up my stuff for a big presentation later that day. I got a phone call saying that instead of Sunday, my last day with this client will be SATURDAY. As in, today. The day I'm typing this. This is my last day with my client :(
I finish my part of the presentation, meet with my classmate and the professor we're presenting with. We merge everything and iron it out, and give a pretty good presentation.
Afterward, this professor from another school comes up to me about how I offended her and she thought about getting up and leaving but she decided to stay and let me know, and she talks to me about her experience and how there are resources out in a certain area (I didn't say there WEREN'T, just a lack of resources in comparison to the MUCH larger area we're in) and how she KNOWS where all of her students are interning (um, no shit. If you're worth half your salt as a professor heading the internships, you BETTER know where your students are! DUH).
After she left I just cried.
I know, I know, thin skin.
I would've appreciated a frank conversation more than just getting reamed.
It was a relief to know how many people had my back, though. My professor told me how inappropriate her comments were and that he'd be calling her since she was nice enough to leave me both of her phone numbers.
The other girl I presented with later told me this lady's behavior was inappropriate because she couldn't even be bothered to wait until we were alone. She just came right up to me, pulled me away about two feet, and started going at it. Everyone else there acknowledged that we were a couple of students, not hardcore seasoned professionals.
And my internship professor, while empathetic and understanding, told me it's something I'll continue experiencing if I present in front of people, and even people at the top of the food chain get rude mess like that. She even mentioned one of her experiences.
Then by Friday (yesterday)... I was just done with this week. Instead of being upset about that lady, I'm just irritated. Annoyed.
I was running late to my internship (on top of other things there was a spider in my car... Ew...) but I never miss anything and as an intern there's only so much I can do anyway due to the fact that I'm not employed there. I had a doctor appointment that afternoon, and tried to figure out who I'd be on outreach with so I could iron it out with them. Well, I couldn't find the person I was looking for, so I explained the situation to the next person I could find (about why I was looking for her) and then to my supervisor, who was ok with it.
I finally found this person, explained it to her, and when I said I'd be leaving a few minutes earlier to try to get in earlier to get back sooner she told me to make sure I cleared it with the supervisor (which I had) and then had the nerve to turn away from me and mutter "I wish I could work like you do."
I stood there for a moment before walking away so I didn't ream her for that rude-ass comment. Because there are more than a few things to get straight:
- as an intern, I am unpaid.
- as an intern, there are limitations on what I can and cannot do.
- as an intern, I have busted my ass asking questions, trying to get things sorted out, doing what I can.
- my supervisors and I have had any number of discussions to figure out things so everybody benefits and I get my hours.
- as an intern, sometimes all I can do is sit at my desk and read my book for internship because there's nothing else I CAN so. One of the guys working in the department was in one of my classes and did his internship at the same agency, in a BUSIER department. Even HE acknowledges that sometimes being an intern is boring.
- I have NEVER missed anything on the days I'm there (going on outreach, etc.) and I do what I can to offer help despite my limited knowledge... But I'm also trying to stay out of people's way!
- I don't know what she does in her spare time, but I work two fucking jobs AND I'm a full-time graduate student, have NEVER been LESS than full-time AND I'm still getting in to my internship 2 days a week and any extra days I can, I just finished a major presentation and have two more major ones coming up, I have a half marathon to train for, AND I'm trying to make time for myself, my husband, and my friends so I don't go nuts. THAT is "[working] like [I] do".
Tonight, I think I'm going to take a moment to enjoy a glass of wine. Tomorrow I'm going to enjoy some time with my husband, possibly with a friend, maybe hit up the zoo and/or botanical gardens, and I'm going running.
Until then, I'm going to enjoy the last 4.5 hours I've got with my client, and we're gonna have a grand ol' time.
Nothing quite like working just like I do.
Heads up, this is long. Kudos to anyone who makes it through.
It's been one stressful day after the next... I just need to take a moment to get it off my chest.
I've been doing in-home senior care for just under 2.5 years now. I've had the same client for just over two years.
While on a break between school portrait retakes and a group photo on Wednesday I got a call saying that there was a bit of a change and to call back the office when I got a chance.
Turns out my client is moving and my last day is to be Sunday - THIS Sunday. As in tomorrow.
Meanwhile, I'm roaming around the school grounds, gathering ideas for the perfect class picture. I had a bunch of ideas. On the school sign, on different areas of the playground...
Get outside with the kids, and the teacher just axes all of my awesome ideas because "maybe with another group, you understand."
Uh, no, not really. Could you explain? Because I waited an hour and a half between MAYBE 10 retakes and being able to take a group picture, just to get everybody in this one spot.
But... I didn't say that. I just smiled and nodded like I got it.
At least I have some ideas for some playground shots to look for at other playgrounds.
Then Thursday... Oh, Thursday was a PAIN. I was trying to finish up my stuff for a big presentation later that day. I got a phone call saying that instead of Sunday, my last day with this client will be SATURDAY. As in, today. The day I'm typing this. This is my last day with my client :(
I finish my part of the presentation, meet with my classmate and the professor we're presenting with. We merge everything and iron it out, and give a pretty good presentation.
Afterward, this professor from another school comes up to me about how I offended her and she thought about getting up and leaving but she decided to stay and let me know, and she talks to me about her experience and how there are resources out in a certain area (I didn't say there WEREN'T, just a lack of resources in comparison to the MUCH larger area we're in) and how she KNOWS where all of her students are interning (um, no shit. If you're worth half your salt as a professor heading the internships, you BETTER know where your students are! DUH).
After she left I just cried.
I know, I know, thin skin.
I would've appreciated a frank conversation more than just getting reamed.
It was a relief to know how many people had my back, though. My professor told me how inappropriate her comments were and that he'd be calling her since she was nice enough to leave me both of her phone numbers.
The other girl I presented with later told me this lady's behavior was inappropriate because she couldn't even be bothered to wait until we were alone. She just came right up to me, pulled me away about two feet, and started going at it. Everyone else there acknowledged that we were a couple of students, not hardcore seasoned professionals.
And my internship professor, while empathetic and understanding, told me it's something I'll continue experiencing if I present in front of people, and even people at the top of the food chain get rude mess like that. She even mentioned one of her experiences.
Then by Friday (yesterday)... I was just done with this week. Instead of being upset about that lady, I'm just irritated. Annoyed.
I was running late to my internship (on top of other things there was a spider in my car... Ew...) but I never miss anything and as an intern there's only so much I can do anyway due to the fact that I'm not employed there. I had a doctor appointment that afternoon, and tried to figure out who I'd be on outreach with so I could iron it out with them. Well, I couldn't find the person I was looking for, so I explained the situation to the next person I could find (about why I was looking for her) and then to my supervisor, who was ok with it.
I finally found this person, explained it to her, and when I said I'd be leaving a few minutes earlier to try to get in earlier to get back sooner she told me to make sure I cleared it with the supervisor (which I had) and then had the nerve to turn away from me and mutter "I wish I could work like you do."
I stood there for a moment before walking away so I didn't ream her for that rude-ass comment. Because there are more than a few things to get straight:
- as an intern, I am unpaid.
- as an intern, there are limitations on what I can and cannot do.
- as an intern, I have busted my ass asking questions, trying to get things sorted out, doing what I can.
- my supervisors and I have had any number of discussions to figure out things so everybody benefits and I get my hours.
- as an intern, sometimes all I can do is sit at my desk and read my book for internship because there's nothing else I CAN so. One of the guys working in the department was in one of my classes and did his internship at the same agency, in a BUSIER department. Even HE acknowledges that sometimes being an intern is boring.
- I have NEVER missed anything on the days I'm there (going on outreach, etc.) and I do what I can to offer help despite my limited knowledge... But I'm also trying to stay out of people's way!
- I don't know what she does in her spare time, but I work two fucking jobs AND I'm a full-time graduate student, have NEVER been LESS than full-time AND I'm still getting in to my internship 2 days a week and any extra days I can, I just finished a major presentation and have two more major ones coming up, I have a half marathon to train for, AND I'm trying to make time for myself, my husband, and my friends so I don't go nuts. THAT is "[working] like [I] do".
Tonight, I think I'm going to take a moment to enjoy a glass of wine. Tomorrow I'm going to enjoy some time with my husband, possibly with a friend, maybe hit up the zoo and/or botanical gardens, and I'm going running.
Until then, I'm going to enjoy the last 4.5 hours I've got with my client, and we're gonna have a grand ol' time.
Nothing quite like working just like I do.
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