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.