Browse Category: life

Saying Goodbye

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It’s my last day at CHO and I tried to be as present as I could in order to appreciate the place I called my second home for the past 10 years.

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The week started on Tuesday after the Labor Day weekend and Teresa was there for her one day of work there. We got to do one final co-treat together in the morning and it was like old times.

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I’ve been taking home one bag of stuff home each day for the past two weeks but somehow my desk still looked intact that day.

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On Wednesday, I had my last All-Staff Meeting and got everyone together for a group photo. I’m missing some key people in the photo but loved having whoever I could all at once. My manager also took me out for lunch as part of my exit interview.

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On Thursday, I had one last bowl of the trusty steel cut oatmeal with brown sugar and raisins from the cafeteria. We also went out for our usual Thursday lunch and Mai joined us with Cece.

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We ate at the cheese shop and then went across the street for Pete’s as usual.

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Ranee also worked that day and we had our last official work day together.

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Waaaaah! I also said goodbyes to some key people who would not be working on Friday so it was the start of the end for me.

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On Friday, I snapped a few photos of what I saw everyday. This is the red light that I would often have to wait at before going into the parking structure.

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This is the stairwell that I climbed day in and day out. I had gotten pretty good at climbing up at least 2-3 flights at a time over and over again.

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I arrived pretty early and got a photo of the entrance to our gym/office. It’s a pretty nice place to work.

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This is what a typical morning also looks like. We were all crammed into his one long staff office working side by side. It was crazy at times but so nice to have everyone together in one place.

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I was lucky enough to get assigned a corner desk with a view of the courtyard and 100-year-old magnolia tree outside. This is what my desk looked like 10 years ago back when we didn’t have our own computers and still wrote notes by hand. By Friday, my desk was cleared out and all I had left to take home was an orchid and a binder that I had left so I could finish some paperwork.

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I brought in donuts one last time and made sure I brought enough for everyone. My caseload was pretty light that day and I had enough time to pack up some last minute things, deliver thank you cards.

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I also went to say goodbye to the Clinical Nutrition department at lunch. I worked so closely with them on so many feeding cases and made some good friends along the way.

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By the end of the week, I received and gave numerous hugs and words of encouragement.

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The last person I said “see you later” to was Nicole. She is the last remaining friend that has been with me full-time for the past 10 years. I handed over our pet beaver for safe keeping and we got one last photo at work together.

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I turned in my badge and keys at the end of the day and walked out with a huge weight lifted off of me. Here’s to a new adventure in the big big world of Kaiser!

Time for More Change

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I’ve been working at Children’s Hospital Oakland for the past 10 years and it has been a wonderful learning experience.

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I also made some very good friends along the way and they have become family to me.

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Over the last 5 years, my life has become more complicated with the addition of not only one but two little kids. I’ve been doing my best to continue working full time but sometimes I’ve felt like I’ve had to make compromises either as a therapist or as a mom. Regardless, I haven’t felt like I’ve done well in either lately.

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To make matters more stressful, we went through some staffing changes that have impacted my work life.

  • The caseload /schedule that was given to me this past year has also become more of a grind. I was no longer given opportunities to learn or work toward my professional goals.
  • Close friends, Teresa and Stephanie, left this past year for different reasons and the office had become increasingly lonely.

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Thankfully, Ranee consistently works on Mondays and Thursdays and she has been my source of sanity at work. We’ve also grown up together and are enjoying seeing our kids grow up together as well.

With KK starting Kindergarten this fall, I’ve had to think long and hard about what my priorities are and what changes we need to make this coming year. Last year, we started looking for a house outside of SF, which started my re-evaluation process.  Once we moved to Alameda, I made the decision to start looking elsewhere. After a few months at Kaiser, Teresa gave me the scoop on how her life was now with her new work schedule. She was clearly happier and felt that the decision to leave CHO was worth it.

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I had some conversations with the director at Kaiser and other people on her staff and learned that maybe there was a position that would be more agreeable to my family’s  need.  After a long period of consideration and negotiations, I decided to make the leap and resign in order to take a 32-hour position at Kaiser.

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My last day at CHO will be on September 8th and my start day at Kaiser will be on September 25th. I took this photo with my OT team last week after my last staff meeting with them.

The new position will give me some flexibility with my schedule, one day off per week, a slight salary rate increase, and a promotion to Clinical Specialist.  Although the decision is bittersweet, I know that this change will be an opportunity for our family and for me to have a reset. I also know that the friendships I’ve made were built to last. To make the deal just a little sweeter, Teresa was told the other day that she will be sharing her cubicle with me at Kaiser.  It’ll be nice to have a familiar face at such as new place.

This coming week will be my last at CHO and it will be a busy and emotional one.  I hope that it will go smoothly and I’ll be able to say goodbye graciously.

Kindergarten!!

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Today was the first day of school for KK at Amelia Earhart School. She turned 5 in April and now she’s a Kindergartener!! I had to hold back tears when we walked her into the class but she did great with the transition.

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In June, KK had her Whale Class graduation, which was well done by her teachers.

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She enjoyed her last summer in SF at her Whale class and said goodbye to the ferry crew last week.

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She was very excited to meet her new teacher and had a fun day. We are hopeful she will love her new school for years to come.

We got a minivan!!!

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I grew up traveling in a minivan and it was so much fun!! I always thought it would be fun to have my own kids and drive them around in the dopest ride in the neighborhood. Well, Jesse has finally come to his senses and made the decision to take us out to the dealer to buy the Honda Odyssey that I always wanted my dad to get for us when we were kids.  We picked up this 2014 Touring model with only 17K miles on it last Saturday (7/15/17) from a Toyota dealership in Walnut Creek. These two kids have no idea how lucky they are but they certainly love their new car…just as much as I do.

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And we managed to get it to fit in the garage with the black car! Yay!

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We wanted to see what the car could do so we drove down to Southern California this past weekend. The kids had a comfy ride with an entertainment system and all.

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We also took a back road and tested it on some steep hills. Check out this wind farm that we drove through in Livermore!!

SOLD

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I took this photo on 2/10/17, the day after our offer on the Alameda house was accepted. It looks like a mess but we made it work.

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Once we moved everything out, I cried.  Then it was time to have the condo cleaned, painted, and staged. We listed on 4/6/17 and we sold it on 4/13/17 – exactly one month after we moved out. Crazy fast.

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They did a nice job. I’d live here. I’m happy that others wanted to as well. We got 4 offers with one guy making a counter to match the highest offer ($86,000 over asking!!!). We are so happy and relieved that it all worked out well so far. Hopefully escrow will close smoothly and we’ll be able to move forward with our new life in suburbia.

Alameda Residents

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On 3/13/17, we became residents of Alameda. We picked up the keys and Peanut had his first day of daycare.

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On 3/14/17, the moving company came and took all our belongings to the new house. We had dinner at Angel Fish Sushi and then stopped at our new Safeway for some milk and other essential items.

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My mom came to help watch the kids while we did lots of trips back and forth across the bay to pick up the remaining items. We’ve also had to make a few trips to Target and Home Depot. Best of all, she helped out with getting Peanut ready for school and doing the drop-off/pick-up during the first couple weeks.

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KK has adjusted to her new suburban life and loves it. She comes home afterschool and looks forward to playing outside.

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Her commute to the city everyday with Dada started out a little rough but they’ve figured out the TransBay Bus and Ferry schedules over the past couple weeks. When they’re stuck in traffic on the bus, KK plays some reading games on her iPad. Thankfully the bus has WiFi.

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Most days, they take the Ferry across the bay since it’s more comfortable and a short 25-minute trip versus 45. They also allow you to eat and drink on the ferry and has a bathroom.

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It’s funny that KK is literally the only kid on the boat everyday.

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One of the benefits of this new house is having a greenbelt away from the street and a playground structure right out front. This is the welcome mat that we got from the bank when we closed escrow. Haha.

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While KK is outside playing, we’ve trained Peanut to sit in the doorway while Mama is doing housework.

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KK also made a friend. His name is Gavin and lives next door. He’s turning 5 in May and they may end up in the same Kindergarten class together in the fall!  Here they are playing with the water hose and catching earthworms in the puddles that formed after the rain.

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These two play together everyday. Gavin often rings out doorbell asking if KK can come out and play. It’s pretty hard getting them to come back in for dinner lately. His mom is really nice and has given some insight on the families that live around us. We also help each other watch the kids while they’re outside.

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So far, we’ve enjoyed the Mexican restaurant that is walking distance from the house. They made a pretty good house margarita and their free chips/salsa are tasty.  So far, the carnitas and enchiladas are pretty good!

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My commute takes longer than it used to but it’s nice to know that I am on the same side of the bay as at least one of my kids now. I leave the house between 7:00-7:15 with Peanut, drop him off, and get to work by 8:00. Jes leaves around 8:00 to catch the 8:30 ferry and KK gets dropped off around 9:15 everyday. I get to Peanut’s school after work around 5:15 to pick him up while KK and Jes get on the 5:35pm ferry and get home by 6:15pm.

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Peanut probably had the toughest transition to the new house and schedule.  He still cries at drop off but it only takes 2-3 minutes for him to settle down. His teachers tell us that he enjoys school and only need Boo-Boo for nap time. His naps have also lengthened to about 2 hours everyday.  Unfortunately, he’s totally pooped by the end of the day and barely lasts through an early dinner. Bedtime has been closer to 6:30 or 7:00 now. On our first night in the house, he woke up and cried at least 3 times. Now he sleeps through through the night and can go almost 12 hours!

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The past month has been rough and filled with lots of changes but in the end it’s worth it. These two kids have more space to play, their own rooms, and a whole new world to explore. Best of all, they have 13 years of good free public education ahead of them.