Browse Author: beakatude

peace and quiet

My OT intern started on Wednesday and it’s been non-stop action at work. When I’m in “teaching mode” I seem to be talking quite a bit. It’s hard not to when someone is relying upon you to explain everything I’m doing and why. After going all school-year on my own and coming/going as I please, I now have a shadow attached to me all day long. It certainly takes some getting used to. Sometimes I feel like I need to “entertain” my student with something to do or see. With all the talking that I did on Wednesday, my throat was really raw yesterday morning. It was really hard for me to get warmed up and I ended up being really quiet all morning. I felt I needed to apologize to my student since it almost seemed like I was annoyed by her. I really wasn’t. It was just way too early to be teaching. In fact, when she arrived in the morning, I was in the middle of a very stressful phone call and simply not ready to be dealing with people. So when she asked me, “Is there anything you want me to do?” I so badly wanted to say, “No, just sit there quietly until I’m done with my paperwork.” But of course I didn’t. Instead, I said, “Go ahead and and observe Arlene’s treatment session for a bit while I’m finishing up.” Phew…that was close.

So it’s Friday now and my intern had to attend her graduation this morning so I have a day to catch up.  Ah…what a relief. It was weird to have time to gather my thoughts and get my reports done. I really do enjoy teaching but it definitely requires a little extra energy and organization on my part. It’ll get easier once we get into the rhythm of things. Unfortunately it’ll be another week or so before I can start putting her to work. It’ll be great!

Ak! Babyboom!

OK.  This is getting a little ridiculous.  As most of you know, I work in a Special Ed preschool and kids come in to get tested just months before they turn three years of age.  Well, just in the last two months, I’ve tested three kids who have very familiar addresses.  They all live in my neighborhood!  In fact, they live just down the street from me.  I’m surprised I hadn’t met them yet in passing. 

I guess it all makes sense if you do the math.  I moved into my house that was built in a brand-new community almost 4 years ago and it looks like a bunch of my neighbors were nesting at the time.  If they moved into their house the same time I did, conceived within the first couple months of moving in, and had a baby 9 months later, then these babies are ALL turning three years old this year.  I guess I was just destined to meet some of them within the context of Special Education.  It’s sad, but true.  It seems that more and more children are growing up with some kind of problem.  Luckily for them we live in a good school district but unfortunately for me, it’s bombarding me with more and more work. 

Anyway, my point is that I’m getting a first-hand experience at how there’s a new generation of human beings sprouting out of these little condos down the street.  There’s gotta be a way to make money off of this!  Just the other day, Brother was looking into the future and I think he’s got something going with his predictions.  Perhaps it’s time for me to unveil my long-awaited business plan soon…muhahaha…

Almost but not quite…

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After our Cinco de Mayo fiesta complete with nacho cheese, carne asada, and margaritas, Brother and Joy got up early this morning to run the PCRF 5K. I decided to sit this one out but it was fun to watch them anyway. Koa even got to come along to check out the sights, sounds, and smells. With his red headband on, Johnny finished just a few seconds slower than last year’s time so no there was Personal Record this year. Joy finished her very first 5K today under 30 minutes – pretty impressive. They even received a little medal at the finish line this year. Nice job, runners! You’re 3.1 miles closer to our Half Marathon!  Here are the photos.

maple project

It’s been 4 weeks in the darkroom now and I finally came home with some worthy of keeping. What’s funny is that none of it came from a negative. I made what is called a photogram.

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I made this one by laying maple leaves on the paper and left it out in the sun for 20 mins. Then I stuck it in a black bag and put it in the “fixer” when I got to class yesterday.

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I made this one in the darkroom by using the first photogram as the “photo negative”. Basically, you lay one photo on top of another sheet of photo paper and blast it with just the right amount of light. I also added a filter to the lens for added contrast.

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This one was made by laying maple leaves on top of photographic paper in the darkroom. I played around with the amount of light and did some dodging and burning to get it just right. What fun!

Our next project is to shoot a few rolls of film to find the right photo to print and enter into the Orange County Fair’s annual photo contest. I have a couple subjects in mind but we’ll have to see if they work out.

stupid foot

It’s been a week since my foot started hurting and it hasn’t gotten any better.  I didn’t think it would affect my spirits like this but I’m totally bummed out.  I guess running really is important to me.  I just thought it was something that kept me healthy but it seems to be something that also keeps me sane.  I considered going to the gym to do something less painful but I haven’t been able to get myself out there.   I even took the day off to see the doctor and to stay off my feet to see if either would help.  Of course the doctor didn’t give me much hope.  He basically said to buy new running shoes, rest, and take ibuprofen.  I guess the only good news is that it’s not broken.  I got x-rays done this morning.  So, Brother, I probably won’t be joining you this Sunday on the course.  *sigh*  Stupid foot.

summer school

After searching near and far for a Thai class, I gave up and decided to take Beginning Chinese. Yep, I’m going to summer school at Irvine Valley College to take Chinese 1A. It’s 6 weeks long and  starts the first week of July. I was about to sign up for the one that starts in May and then take 1B in July but there’s no way I can survive going to night school 2 nights/week AND surviving the end-of-the-school-year craziness. Jes and I were already hoping to take a trip to Beijing and Shanghai in the next year so I figured it might be good for me to at least understand the basics – even if it’s just asking where the bathroom is. Anyone interested in joining me?! It’s on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:30 pm – 10:00 pm.