Browse Month: October 2001

on my own

I just finished week 4 at CHLA and things are going well. I think I’m on track with everything I need to accomplish so far. My clinical instructor will be out all this coming week so that will be interesting. I’ve got 3 kids that i’m following independently now and i’m going to be picking up another one this week. He’s in the ICU though so I’ll have some supervision just to be safe.

Wedding plans are coming along slowly. Last weekend, Jes and I decided on a tentative October date for next year but haven’t really announced anything since we don’t know how the date will work out with the church and other vendors. I still can’t get over how much this will cost us. I’m just itching to get a job that pays so i can start saving money for it.

It’s almost ski/boarding season!! I’m so excited and can’t wait for it to start snowing in Tahoe!! We’ve got a trip planned for the end of the year already. It should be lots of fun, especially if it dumps and dumps! We’re going to stay in a cabin from Dec. 28 – Jan. 2nd. I’ve been waiting for it to snow again ever since it stopped…pray for powder!!

What a weekend!

On Thursday I got to hang out with Patty and Patti. Patty and I met up after work and took a nice walk up to a park. Then we met up with Patti at Asakuma in West LA. We sat and talked while dining on blackened cod and sashimi until they kicked us out. It was really nice to catch up.

It’s been a long time since my brother and I got a chance to celebrate together. For the past couple of years, my mom has been sending me flowers and a balloon on my birthday. That was pretty much the extent of it. This year we actually got to see each other and have dinner. This year, I got a delivery of flowers from Holly though! I was very surprised and it was very sweet of her to remember and go through all that trouble. Actually, I got a bunch of phone calls on Friday as well as the day after. It’s so nice to be loved.

On Friday night, Jes flew down to hang out with me. On Saturday we went to the San Diego Zoo to visit the animals. I got to see the pandas, polar bears, and elephants. 🙂 That evening we had dinner at “Top O’ the Cove” in La Jolla. We had a nice outdoor table overlooking the ocean at sunset. Too bad there was too much fog to actually see the sunset. It was fun anyways. However, there was a very snooty party of 4 that was sitting next to us…made me roll my eyes several times that evening.

This week will be my second week at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. The commute is horrible!! Luckily I’ve been assigned to the acute wards with an OT who works 4 10-hour days. That means I have Mondays off!! Yippee! My clinical instructor works primarily with infants both in the NICU and on the regular floors. It’s a really high paced environment where there aren’t any schedules and you pretty much have to play it by ear every day. The babies are so small and fragile. A lot of people wonder “what in do OTs do with babies so young?” Actually there are a lot of things that we can assess and treat. First of all, we are the ones who determine when a baby is ready to be fed by mouth. We look at oral-motor skills and whether the baby can manage formula in their mouths without choking. We also check if they have all their reflexes and whether or not they are developing appropriately. Pediatrics is pretty interesting. There’s so much I don’t know but it’s so fun to learn!