Notes from Nebraska
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Keeping in touch with those back home, and those everywhere else...
Saturday, June 19, 2004
!!!!BIG NEWS!!!!
I have accepted a position at a private clinic in Redmond, Washington! I'll be moving there after graduation, which is now less than two months away. The last two years have gone really fast.
Right now I am doing a practicum experience at Omaha Children's Hospital. I absolutely love it there. I am learning so much, and will be a much better clinician as a result.
Happy thoughts!
Tuesday, May 04, 2004
Only in Nebraska...
...will you find arm wrestling and foosball as competitive sports at the state games.
Sunday, January 18, 2004
Well, I've survived the second week. Wednesday was interesting - my cooperating SLP was out sick, so there was a sub. I pretty much took over the whole day. Nothing like jumping in with both feet! Thursday was a tough day - I left my house at 7:30am and didn't get home until about 10pm, because of night classes. Thankfully that will only happen three more times this semester. Next week, I start planning for some of the groups of kids that I see. In the middle of that, I'm also trying to keep up with my classes and study for comprehensive exams. Ack! When March is over, I will be very happy.
Saturday, January 10, 2004
Well, I survived my first week at student teaching. I'm exhausted. Busy days. I am there Tuesday through Friday, from 8am to usually 5 pm. My cooperating speech-language pathologist is really nice. There are 36 kids on the caseload, and some very challenging ones, at that. Some very sweet kids, though, too. We see a lot of the kids in groups of 2-4, so that we can fit them all in. For the small amount of time we spend with the kids, though, I don't know if we are being that effective. We also go into a fourth-grade classroom once a day to co-teach a reading/writing class. That is kind of fun, but also challenging. Added to all that, I also have to attend meetings, conferences, etc. with my cooperating SLP. So, I am one busy girl. I'll be even more busy next week when university classes start. Yikes.
Sunday, January 04, 2004
Well, I made it back to Nebraska safely. Can't say the same for my luggage though! The zipper on my old suitcase broke, so I got new luggage at a Boxing Day sale. Well, the wonderful baggage handlers of Northwest Air managed to break the handle on one of my new suitcases :( I reported it to the airline's ticket desk. They told me to take it home and empty it, then bring it back and they will send it away to be fixed. No charge to me, thank goodness.
Another nasty surprise here is the snow. It's been snowing ever since last night. Yucky stuff. I really want to get away from it. The snow here is a lot different than the stuff in Vancouver, though. It's really dry and small and granular. The wind blows it all over the place. It's really interesting to see on the roads, because the snow swirling over the pavement almost looks like one of those fog machines. Anyway, the snow is supposed to stop today, but the temperatures are supposed to remain below freezing, so it looks like the snow won't be gone anytime soon.
Wednesday, December 03, 2003
I just have to share this cartoon with you. I think it perfectly describes how football is religion here in Nebraska and the state totally lacks perspective on anything else. Bit of background information, the football coach here at UNL got fired over the weekend, there is a huge uproar. Still going on, I'm quite sick of it. Anyway, check it out: http://www.dailynebraskan.com/vnews/display.v?TARGET=showImage&article_id=3fcc18614162b&image_num=1
Sunday, November 02, 2003
I watched "Finding Nemo" last night - what a cute, funny movie. However, I think the part where I laughed the hardest was the DVD menu. If you watch the DVD, let it sit for a while on the menu screen. Now, I know that the DVD doesn't come out until Tuesday, but one of the guys in my cell group works at Blockbuster and he can get the movies before they actually come out.
However, my night was ruined at around 3:30am. I received a prank phone call. I was not happy, and I hung up the phone rather violently. Then, they called back about five minutes later when I was just about back to sleep. I didn't answer it, let the answering machine get it. They left some laughter on the machine. I was pretty peeved about the whole thing. And also, I about had a panic attack when the phone rang - you know that, at that hour, it can't possibly be a good thing. Anyway, that's my story for the day.
Monday, October 27, 2003
I have good news! I found out last week that I will be externing at Omaha Children's Hospital, in their feeding and swallowing department. I'm very excited. This will be a wonderful experience, and will give me an edge in the job market. Not many new grads have pediatric feeding/swallowing experience.
Other than that, the only thing new here is the weather, and I wish it would have stayed away. Last week it was sunny and warm, t-shirt weather. Now it is cold and cold and cold. I had to scrape frost off my car yesterday before I left for church. This cold business does not make me happy.
Tuesday, October 21, 2003
Okay, so I know it’s been a while since I’ve written anything new, but, to be honest, not that much has been happening.
A couple weeks ago I was in Kearney, Nebraska, which is in the central part of the state. The Nebraska Speech-Language Hearing Association convention was there. It’s not a very exciting town, but it was nice to have a change of scenery. There were a lot of great workshops at the conference, I learned some good stuff. And I was rescued from going to the bar with my classmates by a rather nasty cold. So, while they went and partied, I went to bed.
The last couple days have been Fall Break for me. It’s been nice not having to go to school or clinic or anything. I’ve been hanging around my apartment, getting work done, watching a couple movies, basically laying low. I am not looking forward to going back tomorrow.
Sunday, September 21, 2003
Friday, I booked a ticket home for Christmas. I only get two weeks this year :( I haven't calculated how many days yet, but I'll let you know!
Yesterday I took a 10-hour class to get my CPR, first aid, and AED (automated external defibrillation - heart shocking) certification. I passed with flying colours. It was a long day, though. I was exhausted by the end.
And that's all the news for today.
Wednesday, September 17, 2003
Well, the war against crickets continues. Caught 5 today. Must be some kind of new record. What really grosses me out is that they seem to lose their legs at random. I'll find cricket legs just lying on the floor. Icky. I freaked out Abigail the other night. I was talking on the phone to her, just sitting on my couch, when all of a sudden I looked down and saw a cricket crawling on me. A big, old, nasty one. Of course, I shrieked, and probably gave poor Abigail a heart attack. Something else I've discovered about crickets is that they cling - they don't just drop off. Yuck!
Part of the reason I haven't posted in a while is because my computer went on the fritz. Took it in to the repair shop, and $400+ later, I have it back. The logic board had to be replaced, which is apparently the Apple version of a motherboard. My warranty had run out too. Oh well, it was cheaper than a new computer.
Way back on Labour Day, I went to a concert featuring telecast (new band), Jeremy Camp, and Audio Adrenaline. It was awesome. The real reason I went was to see Jeremy Camp, because I missed him at ChristFest here in Lincoln. The other bands were great too. Audio Adrenaline puts on quite the show - smoke, lights, confetti, and a chicken suit. Yes, a chicken suit. For the encore, the drummer came out wearing a chicken suit. I do not jest.
Anyhow, that's pretty much my life right now. Back to the boring cycle of school. This semester I have to be at school every day by 8 am. Not terribly fun, I haven't been able to get into the rhythm yet. Courses are going okay, the first round of tests starts next week. Clinic is also rolling along. I am facing some real challenges this semester, but that will only make me a better clinician. At least, that's the theory :)
Tuesday, August 26, 2003
Well, the new semester is off and running. On this end of things, it doesn't seem to be too bad, I don't think I'll be too busy. I was assigned to three clients and two evaluation teams. Should be a good experience - and my last semester at Barkley!
I had a wonderful delivery this morning - a harp! One of my supervisors plays the harp, and she had an extra one that she is letting me borrow. It's just a small lever harp, but good enough for now. I definitely miss the sound quality of my harp, though. Yes, I do remember how to play, even though it's been a long time.
Caught another cricket tonight. Big one. Yuck.
Sunday, August 24, 2003
Well, I made it back to Nebraska in one piece. Can't say the same for my luggage, though. The handle of one of them was ripped off. That bag wasn't in the best shape to begin with, though. I had quite the welcome home. Two friends were at the airport to greet me - made me feel so special. One was Abigail, and she also had a surprise for me. There was a Christian music festival held here at church while I was gone. I was pretty bummed out about missing it. But Abigail got me an autograph of Jeremy Camp, who I just became a fan of a couple months ago. So that was neat, it was personalized to me and everything.
My other welcoming committee wasn't so wonderful. When I got back to my apartment, I was greeted by creatures of the creepy-crawly variety. Icky. There were spider webs all over the place, even between my bed and the wall. Gross. Yesterday I cleaned, vacuuming up all the webs and yucky bugs, but today quite a few of them are back. Caught my first cricket of the season on Friday night :)
I had some trouble re-adjusting to the time zone here. For the first couple nights, I couldn't sleep until really late. However, I couldn't sleep in the next morning. I was committed to helping out with the Vacation Bible School here. That was a blast. I had a lot of fun, and I got to know a lot of the kids better.
Other than that, I've been pretty much vegging out. Went to see "Bruce Almighty" on Friday night, and really enjoyed it, and then I watched "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" last night. Been doing some reading as well. Also been shopping, but nothing terribly exciting, just groceries and textbooks. Tomorrow is back to the grind again. Yippee :( I'll let you know how this next semester is shaping up.
Saturday, July 19, 2003
I just finished a two-day course about using music in multicultural education. It was pretty fun - we sang, danced, and played musical instruments. The instructor had spent some time in Zimbabwe and Cuba, so we learned songs from those countries.
I have been truly blessed - I was offered a job for the next year. I'll be a graduate assistant again, working for a different professor this time. Her field is autism, so I'll also be learning relevant information as I work. God is so wonderful to provide for me - I'll be getting paid every month, in addition to having my tuition waived and health insurance covered.
I got new hinges on my door just a couple weeks ago (self-closing, for the fire code), then this past week my door was replaced. Go figure. I hope they're not done yet, because the door is still unfinished wood, I have no peephole, and there is about a 3/4 inch gap at the bottom. Pretty much a bug entry. I don't like bugs! Last night there was a spiderweb on my bed. Yuck!
Sunday, July 13, 2003
Well, I just got back from my weekend in Arkansas. Went to a friend's wedding. I had a really wonderful time, although the trip started out disastrously...
My flight left Lincoln on Friday morning at 6:40am, which meant that I would have to get up really early. Well, I didn't - I woke up at 6:15 in an absolute panic. I missed my flight out because I overslept. I was absolutely exhausted from summer school. Thankfully, I was able to get re-booked on a later flight that day, so I got into Arkansas at 6:30pm rather than at 2pm. It was so great to see my friends again. That night (Friday), I went to the rehearsal, then everybody went out for ice cream. After that, the bridal party and I went to watch "Pirates of the Caribbean." It was an okay movie, not one that I'd go rushing out to see again. The special effects were pretty neat, and I couldn't get over how many scenes were taken directly from the ride at Disneyland.
I stayed at the bride's house, with her family, who are really wonderful people. Saturday was the wedding. They did their pictures before the wedding, and since my only ride to the church was with one of the family members, I was there really early. I helped the bride get ready, which was a lot of fun, and watched the photo session. The wedding ceremony was really lovely. Simple and sweet. After the ceremony, the bride and groom dismissed everyone individually from their seats - a nice way for them to be able to talk to everybody there. The reception was nice, cake and hors d'oeuvres. The couple was then whisked away to spend the night in a hotel. However, we had to take the bride's car to Little Rock so they'd have a way to get back from the hotel. I went along for the ride, and got sort-of lost in the downtown area. Not too lost - the bride's brother kind of knew where he was going, but didn't know the direct way to get there. Anyway, I got to see a little bit of downtown Little Rock, which was nice.
And I traveled back today. Lots of travel in a short period of time, but it was worth it :)
