Browse Month: August 2007

No Brakes

imgp0470.jpgOn Tuesday after work, I threw Koa in the car, picked up Jes from work, and we drove to Chrissy Field located just next to the Golden Gate Bridge. It’s a long stretch of grass, sand, and water, which makes for a very picturesque run or windsurf. In fact, it’s so windy there that there was a bunch of people in the water windsurfing and body boarding in full wetsuit attire. Crazy fools.

Anyway, Koa seemed to really enjoy romping on the sand. We actually let him loose from the leash and he darted from one end to the other taking in the wind, sand, and smells. There were plenty of dogs out there – mostly labs who were playing in the water.

We found a strip of land that was surrounded 3/4 of the way around by water. This was the perfect place to take Koa since it would make it much easier to keep him in one place without the fear of him going too far. If you know Koa, you know that he HATES water so it was safe to say he wouldn’t try to make a run for it through the water.

At one point, we were playing a game of chase and as he was running away from me, he got too close to the shore and didn’t realize he was coming up to the water so quickly. Before he could apply the brakes, he fell into this huge drop in the shoreline (underwater), which inevitably gave him a quick dunk in the water. In just a matter of seconds he had disappeared “plunk!” into the water. The look on his face as he came up for air paddling with all his might back to shore was a sight to see. He looked shocked, confused, and frightened all at the same time. I was laughing so hard that I forgot to take a photo of his head bobbing in the water. I think he was pretty much done for the evening once he made it to shore. Not only was he dirty from the sand but now wet and salty. I guess it’s time to send him out for a bath!!

‘S Wonderful

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On Saturday morning, we dropped the dog off at the “hotel” and drove down to LA for the weekend. We made it to Cerritos by 5 pm and had dinner with Jes’ parents before heading up to Hollywood Bowl.

I bought tickets to “An Evening with Diana Krall” a couple months ago and it was finally time to see the show. Going to Hollywood Bowl is one of my favorite summer activities and I was so happy to be able to enjoy this even after we had already moved to SF. I was sitting there taking in the sounds and the people thinking it was as if I had started a book, put it down to start a new book, and then picked up the old book again. I don’t know if that makes any sense but for a moment I felt like we had never left Southern California. This was how we were supposed to spend our summer…under the stars with the warm summer weather and a bottle of wine. Diana Krall was awesome, as expected and she surprised us with her dry sense of humor throughout the show.

dsc_7959.jpgWe spent the night at Johnny’s place and got to play a little Wii in the morning. We also went for a 5-mile jog down to the end of Santa Monica Pier and back. It was pretty warm outside and there were plenty of people at the beach. Once we got back and showered, it was off to Cerritos to have a birthday lunch for my dad. His birthday is tomorrow and it was fun to see everyone together again – including the Suminos.  Here are the photos.

We flew back to SF this afternoon, arrived around 7, and rushed over to pick up the dog. He seemed OK and not too traumatized by his brief time in the “hotel”. He did, however, come home really thirsty and then passed out on his doggie bed. I hope it wasn’t too bad for him.

What a great summer weekend. It was over 90 degrees down there, which was nice but a little too hot for my taste. It’s such a contrast from the fog that we encountered as we drove across the Bay Bridge this evening and they are certainly two different stories. I suppose I’m done with my LA book and ready to continue my SF book for now. Let the adventure begin!

Baby Zoe

zoe-209.jpgI got an email from Johnny (and Patty) that their little baby girl was born on August 15th. Johnny sent two photos but I decided to post this one because I thought she had the cutest little smile. She’s 7lbs, 1oz. and it sounds like they’re all doing quite well. Congratulations!! I can’t wait to meet her!

a place of my own

It’s Friday and I survived my first week at Children’s. I saw my first patient on Wednesday and I’ve completed two feeding evaluations too.  I’m also happy to say that my Canadian desk buddy has gone back to Canada and has taken his suitcase, three pairs of shoes, and various bags of food with him. It was nice to have a place to store my things and I even put up a couple photos on the cork board to help me settle in. Before I left for the day, my boss also gave me my very own key. It’s official now. I have a badge, pager, key, and desk. Awesome.

City Dog

koa.jpgAfter a week in SF, Koa is truly becoming a city dog. When he initially arrived last Wednesday, he seemed a little anxious out on the street and seemed a bit confused by all the people and lack of grass.  Now that a week has passed, we’ve found a good place for him to take care of his “business” each day and has become accustomed to the ballpark foot-traffic and the sights along Embarcadero.  He’s also gotten used to our little condo and has gotten back into his old routines and habits.

A guy in Palm Springs offered to take over the lease on Jes’ car, so we’ll be driving it down this weekend.  Since we’re leaving the car in LA, we’ll have to fly back up, which means Koa will have to stay behind in SF for a couple days.  Instead of bothering one of our friends with the task of watching him, we registered him with Wag Hotel, which is a kennel that has a fancy name, fancy rooms, and a fancy boutique out front.  We got him a medium-sized room and since he’s not neutered, he will have three “business walks” on the roof instead of two playgroup sessions with the other doggies.  Unfortunately, his walks will only last about 15 minutes each and the rest of the time will be spent in his cell.  It seems sorta sad but I think he should do fine considering that he sleeps about 22 hours per day.  We’ll see how it goes.  If he comes back a nervous wreck, we’ll have to find a Plan B for our next trip.

Fish Out of Water

I just got home from my second day at my new job. The commute has been pretty easy and takes me about 45 mins door-to-door. My first day was rough since I was expected to be there by 8:00 am. That meant waking at 6:15 and being packed and out the door by 7:00 am. That was rough, but I did it.

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I hopped on Muni at 7:08 and transferred onto BART at 7:21.

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I got off at MacArthur Station at 7:36 and caught the hospital shuttle at 7:37.

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I arrived at the front door of the hospital by 7:42.

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Monday morning was all orientation: Corporate structure, Health and Safety, Customer Service, blah blah blah… I didn’t even have to stay for benefits and didn’t get out until 1:00. Then I headed over to Rehab, where I will be working and started shadowing and training right away. I also got my badge, which made me an official employee. Yay! The rest of the day was lots of training and learning how to navigate their computerized documentation system. Overall, my first day was just awkward. I didn’t know what I was supposed to do and they weren’t exactly sure what to do with me either. At the end of the day, I was more than ready to go home and was simply exhausted.

Today was far more interesting. I also got to arrive a bit later in the morning – 9:00 am. I also met up with someone who I was going to shadow for the morning, whom I had already worked with at Children’s Hospital LA. That was cool! I also met one of my cousin’s PT classmates who works there. We were both very excited to meet each other. I’m starting to get the hang of things and slowly settling in. I’m just a little bummed that they didn’t really have a place for me to set my things down just yet. I’m going to be using a workstation that is currently being used by the guy who I have been training under for the past two days. He practically lives there so there’s clothes, food, and papers everywhere. It sounds like he’s going back home to Canada for a few weeks and then it’s unknown whether he will be returning or not. Does that mean I will get to take his desk when he’s gone and then give it back if he returns? I have no idea and it’s a little annoying.

I assisted on a couple of evaluations and treatment sessions today and the kids are so cute and a lot of fun to work with. It’s so different working with kids who can talk and interact with you. I’m used to kids with Autism, who often avoid eye contact and aren’t able to really have a relationship with you. I was also unsure of what to expect from these kiddos but very quickly realized that I actually know what I’m supposed to do and it was all coming back to me.

So, tomorrow I will have my first patient. It’s weird calling them patients since I’ve been calling them students or kids all this time. I think I’m going to start bringing in my books and belongings to help me get a handle on things. Perhaps that will also force my desk-partner to start cleaning up his space. 🙂