Browse Category: work

Waiting and More Waiting

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Yes, I’m still using my Gen One iPod mini.

I’ve been known to have a lot of patience but I think I’ve been pushed to my limit this week. On Monday, I got to MacArthur BART station in record time but had to wait 20 minutes for the hospital shuttle. On Tuesday, I waited at the Muni station for an extra 20 minutes before getting on the last leg of my commute home with the train car packed in like sardines. On Wednesday, I stopped at the bank after work and had to wait a good 30 minutes for my turn with customer service. Yesterday, I got to Embarcadero BART station and had to wait 30 minutes for my train because there were mechanical problems 6 stops down. Today went a little smoother but I was just so burnt out that I was ready to pull all my hair out.

With all this waiting and train-riding, I decided to take some photos. I thought that I might as well since I spend about 2 hours per day going to and from work everyday.

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Here’s what’s in my Timbuktu…apparently the official bag of San Francisco.

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I bought this book two years ago at an airport in Florida. I didn’t think I’d ever be so attached to this thing but I am now. I was too braindead this morning to do Level 5. Perhaps I should have taken a few more sips of my coffee.

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It was a good thing I packed my Strawberry (no icing) Poptart on this day. I was starving. My fingers are all chapped from over 20 handwashes per day at work.

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The sun sets just before my train enters the TransBay Tube every evening.

Special Thanks to Kevin and Bean. I listen to their Podcasts every morning and they sure do make time pass. I was literally giggling to myself like an idiot on my way home today. If I saw a girl cracking up at a Sudoku puzzle, I’d think she was a little insane.

homecoming

I made my first trip back to Cerritos (and Irvine) this weekend and it was a lot of fun. I got to sleep in my old room and in my old bed. I got to wake up in the Magical House where breakfast was ready as soon as I got up on Sunday.  Woohoo!

p1000241b.jpgOn Sunday, I drove down to Irvine to pick up some supplies for my inservice and stopped by the old neighborhood to say “hello” to my old neighbors. Luckily they were home and we got to do a little catching up. Later that day, I had lunch with Patti and it was so nice to hang out with her again. In the evening, I went to my uncle’s retirement dinner. I also got to meet little Brandon for the first time, which was a special treat. Cole is growing up fast and pretty soon little Brandon will be running alongside him as his sidekick. That evening I spent the night at the Suminos’ in preparation for my presentation in Irvine the next day.

On Monday morning, Kenji dropped me off on his way to dropping Cole off to work and it was a pretty early morning for all of us. I got to ECLC and it was just like old times…going into work and messing with the photocopiers in a rush to get everthing done before 8 am. It sounded like my presentation went well. I had to present the same material to two different groups within the span of 3 hours, which ended up being pretty tiring. My throat was so sore afterwards and I was pooped. I got to catch up with old co-workers and had lunch with the OT team. Everyone is pretty stressed out already and it’s only October! The girl who filled my spot is pretty frazzled at this point and I spent about two hours consulting with her about certain sticky cases. Dave gave me a ride home that afternoon and it felt like old times. Later in the evening Brother and I took my parents out for a Lawry’s dinner. It was an early birthday dinner for my mom and a great time for the four of us to just be together again.

Here are photos from my weekend.

todavia cansado

What a week it has been.  Not sure why but I’ve been dragging.  To make matters worse, I had 2 crying kids in the morning and Spanish class from 6-9 pm.  Ay de mi!  Y tengo dos mas dias.

Anyway, I have two birthday gifts in transit right now and so far they’re tied neck and neck.  I’m waiting for my new compact digi from Jes and my new pet wabbit (compliments of the Bangs – thanks guys!).  Which one will arrive first?!  I don’t know!  I have a feeling the camera will first because it has a shorter distance to travel but who knows.

tired

Been tired all week.  It’s now Thursday night and still haven’t been able to catch up on the Zs.  This weekend I’m taking a Spanish Class for Therapists and it starts tomorrow night after work.  That bums me out.  My favorite day of the week taken up by “Quien es su doctora?” and “Donde esta el dolor?”  I’ve taken 3 years of Spanish but have decided to take this so I can remember who to conjugate stuff again the right way.  Sure, I’ve been getting by so far but I also need to learn how to give kids directions.  I say a lot of things like “My turn.  Now it’s your turn.”  or “You try.”  These are not your average Spanish III phrases.  The next 2.5 days of hanging out in the cafeteria conference room better do me some good cuz I’m tired and could have used this coming weekend.  At least the class is free and only goes from 9-3 on Saturday and Sunday.  Tomorrow night will be painful though…work 9-5 and then class from 6-9?!  That’s brutal.

15 minutes

Living in SF has put me into a 15-minute lifestyle. My job requires that I account for every 15 minutes of my day. I turn in a stats sheet at the end of each day that breaks down my day into units or 15-minute chunks. When I see a patient for 45 minutes, I bill 3 units. When I’m writing my therapy notes, it takes me about 1 unit. By the end of the day, I need to have a total of 28 units accounted for (my lunch hour is not included).

I guess the rest of my work day seems to work around the same concept. With having to take two trains and a shuttle to work everyday, it’s more important than ever for me to do things in a timely manner. I think I’ve got it down to a science now.

Here’s an example of a typical morning:
6:45 am Alarm goes off…push “snooze” button.
6:55 am Coffeemaker turns on.
7:00 am Alarm goes off again…push “off” button.
7:15 am Finally get out of bed, brush teeth, get dressed, etc.
7:30 am Walk the dog and bump into Victor and Susie on their way to Muni.
7:45 am Prepare my coffee and Pop Tart and gather my belongings.
7:50 am Out the door, cross the street, race the Muni to the corner.
8:06 am Catch BART, listen to a Kevin & Bean Podcast and finish two Sudoku puzzles.
8:21 am Run down the stairs to catch the hospital shuttle.
8:30 am Walk through the hospital doors and prepare for another crazy day.

I’ve been doing this regularly for about a month now and it’s becoming very predictable…with the exception of the various characters I meet on the trains, of course. My afternoons are a little less predictable but I think I should have that down in no time.

We’re not in Irvine anymore…

I’ve had an interesting time here this past month and a half but my commute to work has been pretty ordinary…until today.

I was riding BART this morning as I usually do. We all know that food and drinks aren’t allowed but no one really gets called out on it. I bring my coffee on board every morning and no one ever seems bothered if I take a couple sips on my way to work. Today was a bit different.

As I was working on my Sudoku puzzle, I notice the middle-aged man seated behind me standing in the aisle and lecturing the younger guy seated across the aisle to my right. I couldn’t actually hear what he was saying because I was listening to my iPod and we were traveling through the TranBay Tube, which usually gets really loud. After removing my earphones, I catch the last half of the lecture and realize that he was upset with the younger guy for eating his breakfast sandwich on the train.

The next thing I know, I hear the the older man (still behind me) saying “There’s a guy here on the train wearing a green and red vest with black-rimmed glasses eating and drinking.” I didn’t actually turn around to look at the man to see if he was really calling the driver. Is he just bluffing? There’s always the chance that he’s a little cuckoo and talking to no one. Well, just a few seconds later, the train conductor makes an announcement overhead and says, “May I have your attention, please. There is someone eating on the train and food and drinks are not allowed on the train. People not following the rules are subject to being escorted off the train by security at the next stop.” Holy crap. This guy was serious! He just called the train conductor and reported him! The man was so proud of himself that he continued to give the guy in the vest a hard time. So, at the next stop, the guy in the vest got off the train. Dude, that’s not how I’d want to spend my morning. Luckily the man didn’t see my travel mug in my lap.

You’d think that that would be enough excitement for one day but I was wrong. This afternoon as I was seated outside of the hospital waiting for the shuttle to the BART station, I notice police cars zooming past the hospital. That’s nothing. It happens all the time so I go back to my book. Seconds later, I hear sirens and a whole army of squad cars weaving through traffic. I look up at the girl seated next to me and she said to me that she heard two pops. Pops?! You mean gunshots?! *sigh* I knew that I was working in a shady area but I wasn’t expecting gunfire next door to us.

Moments later, we see 8-10 more squad cars and 5-6 motorcycle cops zooming by, a helicopter circling the area from above, and one of our ambulances pulling out of the driveway. Crazy. I was just thinking to myself, “Oh man, the shuttle’s going to be a while.” and “I hope the guy doesn’t run into the hospital.” Luckily, the shuttle got through the traffic and I made it home in one piece.