Browse Author: beakatude

in a hurry…

On Monday, my OT intern from the USC Master’s Program arrived. Being so used to my autonomous day, it was an interesting perspective having someone follow me around all day. I realized a few things…

  1. My work day is extremely hectic and fast-paced.
  2. I’m often too busy to stop by the restroom to pee.
  3. I don’t usually talk much unless I have to.
  4. I walk really fast.

Now with a student by my side, I have to talk all day explaining what I’m doing, why I’m doing it, and asking “quizzy” questions to her. Sometimes when there’s dead time, I will usually sit down at my desk, check email, finish paperwork, and take care of other adminstrative things. Now I have to worry about whether the student has enough to occupy her time and if I should be “meeting” with her to answer questions or teach her something.

One more thing that I realized was that I often fail to take a real lunch hour. I don’t have a set lunchtime and eat lunch when I have spare moments in my day while I continue working between bites. Now that she’s around, I need to make sure that she has at least a half hour to eat and rest.

Speaking of lunch…just last Wednesday, I was in such a hurry to get through my lunch that I bit the inside of my lower lip. Owie! I guess in my shark-like frenzy of chewing and managing the food in my mouth, one of my canines crunched into my lip. It hurt so bad that I winced in pain and it brought a small tear to my eye. It’s now Tuesday evening and my lip still hurts.

I’m a fan.

I hate vacuuming. It hurts my ears. It’s stinky. It’s heavy. And the results are never worth the amount of physical labor it requires.

dysonFor the past few months, we’ve considered purchasing our very own dyson. Each time we go to Costco, we pass the vacuum aisle and debate whether it’s really worth $469.99. Victor and Susie got it a while back and were totally raving about it but still, it’s a vacuum! Well, after I tried to vacuum the house on Friday, I was a little frustrated with the results of my hard work and seriously reconsidered the possible purchase. Today, we went to Costco and finally forked over the money for our very own dyson DC14 full kit and didn’t look back. We were skeptical at first but boy has it changed my attitude towards vacuuming. For example, I just vacuumed our livingroom rug on Friday afternoon and today (Sunday), it managed to pick up another half a canister of fur! Wow…either our old vacuum wasn’t doing anything or my dog is shedding a lot. Speaking of fur, we also tried to vacuum the dog but he wasn’t a fan. Later, even Jesse got into the fun and vacuumed the fur out of the back of my car and the entire second floor of our house. I can totally imagine a commercial where some housewife says, “Dyson saved our marriage!”

A couple more things and I’ll shut up…it has some really cool attachments that snap to the side or top of the machine, it’s less hurty to my ears than the old vacuum, and because it has a Hepa filter it doesn’t smell!! OK. I’m a fan.

A PR at PCRF

This morning I ran the “Reaching for the Cure” 5K/10K, which benefits Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation (PCRF). It was held just a stone’s throw from my house. Local races totally rock. Jes and Johnny came along and we met up with our next door neighbors too. It was a little chilly and very cloudy but it was perfect running weather.

It’s been a long time since I raced a 5K and it was so much fun! I even managed to finish 3.1 miles in 27:42. That’s an official personal record (or “PR” for you running junkies out there) for me. Johnny and Jes also finished under 30 minutes, which is just as awesome.

Afterwards we hung out at the post-race expo to get some free coffee, fruit, baguettes, massages, and rock climbing. What fun! Here are the photos.

Cinco de Mayo at an Irish Pub

scottLast night we went to The Harp Inn in Costa Mesa to watch Scott play. I’m not sure if it was because it was a Friday night, it was Cinco de Mayo, I was a little buzzed, or the crowd was extra rowdy but “Velicious” was sounding better than usual. The drinks were flowing and I think they turned down the volume on their lead guitarist who is my least favorite member. I had a great time considering there was no Mexican food, no Coronas, and definitely no tequila for me. I slept well last night and we didn’t crawl out of bed until about 10:30 this morning. I love Saturday mornings.

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Oh yeah, I’d like to give shout out to Jimmy on his 31st birthday today. To another great year, old man! Cheers!

Family Reunion

My mom just called to report that my grandmother woke up yesterday afternoon. Phew! She woke up and was able to recognize everyone so all is well. I just hope it didn’t do too much damage to her brain or any other part of her body. Yay!! Now my dad and uncle can enjoy the rest of their trip and spend some time as a family.

Cross Your Fingers

My family received some bad news earlier this week. My auntie called my dad and uncle to tell them that our grandmother had a stroke in her sleep. What generally happened was that she went to sleep one night and didn’t wake up the next morning. It’s a little bizarre that the same thing happened to my other grandmother and it ended poorly. So, my dad and uncle took a last minute red-eye flight to Thailand last night. I’m hoping that having the family back together again will help wake her up. I’m just so glad that we had the chance to visit her in December. I’m not sad yet…just feeling a little helpless at this point. There’s nothing we can do but wait. *sigh* Cross your fingers.