It's been pretty busy the past two days, at work actually, but also in the evenings. I've had a bit of a theatre week, which has been fantastic. I wrote in an earlier entry that I had bought tickets for Whistle Down the Wind for 6 pounds a ticket. Jo and I went to see that last night after catching up over dinner, and while the musical is not one of Andrew Lloyd Webber's best works, it was still a great show. I have never seen the old black and white movie with Hallie Mills, but I'm told it's very different, just from the fact that the musical is set in the American bible-belt south, but the movie was set in England. The music was somewhat typical ALW, with hints of Phantom here and there, and with big rock crescendos. There were probably 30 kids in the show, who were absolutely adorable. It was a bit disconcerting how evidently everyone was supposed to be speaking with an "American" accent, but some of them just kept slipping back into more of a British accent, and some of them were speaking with what they must have thought was a good American accent but just was off somehow. One of the characters' names was Amos, and the cast had evidently all been directed to say it with the pronunciation of "a-MOSS" heavy accent on the second syllable. I know I'm picking things apart at the moment, but it was still an enjoyable show.
The previous night, Wednesday, I went to see Arthur Miller's The Crucible after receiving an email that morning that tickets were available for 5 pounds for that night's show. My roommate Nicole decided to join me at the end of the day, so we went home for a quick dinner and then off to the West End. Again there was a bit of a problem with the accents, but overall, it was a gripping performance. It's an excellent show, not that I expected any less from an Arthur Miller play. You really understand how it is that hysteria may have spread, and people were actually accused by young girls, tried and hung for being witches on "solid evidence." It's pretty scary actually, given repeats throughout our history, such as Joe McCarthy's communism witch hunt. Nicole didn't realize it was a play rather than a musical until we were on our way and I was telling her a bit about the Salem witch trials, at which point she laughed and said she'd probably fall asleep since it wasn't a musical. However, I'm happy to report she was as wrapped up in the show as the rest of the audience.
Wednesday afternoon we had our OT basic grades meeting...all the basic grades go out to lunch together and then spend the rest of the afternoon in continuing development topics of our own choice. This week we went over to wheelchair services where Nicole has been on rotation, and had a look at all different kinds of wheelchairs, had a bit of a wheelchair race ourselves, and then learned how to properly assess for a standard wheelchair. Fortuitous timing since yesterday afternoon one of the physios came to me and asked me to assess one of his patients for a wheelchair. Having just completed the training, I'm confident I can take good measurements.
As to luck, I'm thinking I'm going to have a really good weekend and week next week. And I'm not talking about having today off from work. I met Jo last night on Tottenham Court Road and took off my backpack to grab my wallet. I discovered that not only had I been lucky enough to have a bird poop on me (they say it's lucky, though I can't remember who they is), but I was also lucky enough to have it poop on my backpack rather than actually on me. So I think that's doubly lucky, don't you? ;)
Friday, March 31, 2006
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
PayDay!
I checked my HSBC bank account this morning on the internet, and I have indeed been paid, and my account indeed is open! Hallelujah! However, as I have yet to receive the PIN for my debit card that they promised to mail under separate cover, I have no access to my British funds!! There is nothing to do at this point but laugh. It's a comedy of errors and non-existent customer service. I have Friday off, so I will have to once again journey to the bank, where they will probably tell me, oh sure, we'll issue that to you, it will arrive by mail within 7 working days. Arrrgghhh.
Had an email from my friend Nicole yesterday (Tufts Nicole, not roommate Nicole) who is hoping to arrive here in 2 weeks or so, though it depends on the arrival of her work permit which she needs to get her entry clearance visa. She told me her boyfriend has found them a flat, and is in the process of buying them a used mini Cooper-- she wrote to me, just wait till I start driving you around in that thing! I'm a bit nervous about that statement ;) J/K
Had an email from my friend Nicole yesterday (Tufts Nicole, not roommate Nicole) who is hoping to arrive here in 2 weeks or so, though it depends on the arrival of her work permit which she needs to get her entry clearance visa. She told me her boyfriend has found them a flat, and is in the process of buying them a used mini Cooper-- she wrote to me, just wait till I start driving you around in that thing! I'm a bit nervous about that statement ;) J/K
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
I can see clearly now...
I woke up this morning, only to realize about 10 minutes after I was up and stumbling about downstairs that I could see everything clearly. Oops. I did get several nice compliments on my "specs" at work. They're very fashionable apparently.
I actually had a very busy day at work today...falls education group in the morning. I felt very at home with this week's topic, which was exercise group. Although I must say I was at a loss without Steve's CD mix...and without Rhonda and our Tina routine ;) With my senior OT out today, I had plenty to do with assessments that the doctors wanted and one patient who needed an entire initial OT workup. As it turned out that patient had had everything set up via OTs out in the community, through social services, but it still had to be done. And then I had somewhat of a scary session with a patient where I was asked to administer a screen for depression. It normally takes about 15 minutes to complete. But I spent over an hour with this patient, because she became very tearful, and started to tell me a very convoluted story about a very troublesome family life. And it came in bits and pieces, with some sort of spooky bits about how she'd wake up with marks on her and not know where they'd come from. I did have a bit of training when I started on vulnerable older adults, and how we are supposed to be vigilant if we suspect anything. Specifically, OTs and PTs are generally the first to pick up on something being/feeling not right. So this woman went on and on about how horrible her son was, and how she hated him, and how even though he adored his children, he was hurting them. And she is doing everything she can to protect them, but it leads to horrible conversations with her son, etc. She would almost say something, but stop herself, and I wouldn't be able to get her to finish her sentence, and then she would take things back, and at the end, she was admanant that while it was fine to talk to other staff at the day hospital about what she'd said to me, there should be no social services involvement. "My son is a social worker, you see, and you can just imagine..." No, I can't, because you're not finishing your sentences, I'm only getting half the picture here! In the end, between myself and the SHO (senior house officer, I believe the equivalent of a doctor in their residency), we decided there may have been emotional abuse in the past from her son before she moved out to her own flat, and that there is an ongoing unhealthy relationship between them. But we decided the best course of action was a referral to a community mental health team, where they will follow up on her depression, and the familial situation if need be.
I'd agreed to meet Kristy's sister at 5pm, and of course, given my first busy day in a month, I was late. We had a wonderful time getting to know each other, it was very easy conversation. Sweet thing that she is, she offered for me to come to her flat in Twyford, I think it is, to get away from London on the weekends, and cook if I wanted to...I was complaining a bit about missing cooking, given what limited hardware and space I have to work with in my house. She told me her kitchen is pretty big and fully "kitted" out, and she'd be happy to have me borrow it any time. I'm quite excited actually! It's very funny, she's developed something of a half British accent in the time she's been living here. She also travels within the UK quite a bit for her job, and has offered to take me along whenever I can get the time off. So, Kristy, your sister thinks very highly of you, misses you terribly, and we both agreed you light up any room you walk into! (I, of course, miss you terribly as well.) I think we hit it off, we'll probably do some traveling together, and if you can get your fool self over here, the three of us can have a mess of adventures together! I like the idea of Spain, it is very appealing to me right now.
I did have one large glass of wine with dinner, and a regular size one at the bar after, which I think works out to almost three regular size glasses of wine. So on the way back on the tube, I got on the wrong northern tube train because it splits into two branches and I didn't pay attention to which one I got on...normally it wouldn't matter, but tonight there was no transfer to the central line at tottenham court. Ah well. I'm home in the end. And only two days left of work this week! Well, technically 1 and a half I suppose, since all afternoon tomorrow I have a basic grades continuing development meeting after our pub lunch. This has been a bit long, sorry about that...Love to all, allison.
I actually had a very busy day at work today...falls education group in the morning. I felt very at home with this week's topic, which was exercise group. Although I must say I was at a loss without Steve's CD mix...and without Rhonda and our Tina routine ;) With my senior OT out today, I had plenty to do with assessments that the doctors wanted and one patient who needed an entire initial OT workup. As it turned out that patient had had everything set up via OTs out in the community, through social services, but it still had to be done. And then I had somewhat of a scary session with a patient where I was asked to administer a screen for depression. It normally takes about 15 minutes to complete. But I spent over an hour with this patient, because she became very tearful, and started to tell me a very convoluted story about a very troublesome family life. And it came in bits and pieces, with some sort of spooky bits about how she'd wake up with marks on her and not know where they'd come from. I did have a bit of training when I started on vulnerable older adults, and how we are supposed to be vigilant if we suspect anything. Specifically, OTs and PTs are generally the first to pick up on something being/feeling not right. So this woman went on and on about how horrible her son was, and how she hated him, and how even though he adored his children, he was hurting them. And she is doing everything she can to protect them, but it leads to horrible conversations with her son, etc. She would almost say something, but stop herself, and I wouldn't be able to get her to finish her sentence, and then she would take things back, and at the end, she was admanant that while it was fine to talk to other staff at the day hospital about what she'd said to me, there should be no social services involvement. "My son is a social worker, you see, and you can just imagine..." No, I can't, because you're not finishing your sentences, I'm only getting half the picture here! In the end, between myself and the SHO (senior house officer, I believe the equivalent of a doctor in their residency), we decided there may have been emotional abuse in the past from her son before she moved out to her own flat, and that there is an ongoing unhealthy relationship between them. But we decided the best course of action was a referral to a community mental health team, where they will follow up on her depression, and the familial situation if need be.
I'd agreed to meet Kristy's sister at 5pm, and of course, given my first busy day in a month, I was late. We had a wonderful time getting to know each other, it was very easy conversation. Sweet thing that she is, she offered for me to come to her flat in Twyford, I think it is, to get away from London on the weekends, and cook if I wanted to...I was complaining a bit about missing cooking, given what limited hardware and space I have to work with in my house. She told me her kitchen is pretty big and fully "kitted" out, and she'd be happy to have me borrow it any time. I'm quite excited actually! It's very funny, she's developed something of a half British accent in the time she's been living here. She also travels within the UK quite a bit for her job, and has offered to take me along whenever I can get the time off. So, Kristy, your sister thinks very highly of you, misses you terribly, and we both agreed you light up any room you walk into! (I, of course, miss you terribly as well.) I think we hit it off, we'll probably do some traveling together, and if you can get your fool self over here, the three of us can have a mess of adventures together! I like the idea of Spain, it is very appealing to me right now.
I did have one large glass of wine with dinner, and a regular size one at the bar after, which I think works out to almost three regular size glasses of wine. So on the way back on the tube, I got on the wrong northern tube train because it splits into two branches and I didn't pay attention to which one I got on...normally it wouldn't matter, but tonight there was no transfer to the central line at tottenham court. Ah well. I'm home in the end. And only two days left of work this week! Well, technically 1 and a half I suppose, since all afternoon tomorrow I have a basic grades continuing development meeting after our pub lunch. This has been a bit long, sorry about that...Love to all, allison.
Monday, March 27, 2006
"Oh bother!"
It's a Winnie-the-Pooh kind of blustery day today. The heavy glass door at the entrance to the Day Hospital blew open this morning, and just now while walking home, a full trash bag sitting next to it's trash can on the sidewalk suddenly came to life and slid toward me as if to take me out. With other people coming toward me on the sidewalk, I actually had to jump over it to continue. It's so warm though that I really enjoyed all the wind. Ok, relatively warm, considering winter finally seems to be over.
To Live Alone or Not to Live Alone?
Both of my roommates were out and about this weekend, Nicole at her boyfriend's house for the weekend because of Sunday being Mother's Day (big family dinner with all the significant others from what I gather), and Leeanne with her new man. And it was my first quote unquote lonely weekend since arriving. I suppose that's pretty good, given that I've been here over a month now. But it gave me pause in that I think I'm prone to changing my mind about things given the current situation. In this case, I've been thinking ever since I got here that moving here has made me realize I'm ready to be a homeowner, or in any case, ready to live on my own. And yet, with the house all to myself this past weekend, I found myself feeling lonely rather than relieved, or queen of my domain, or what have you. How do we ever really know what we really want? Or maybe that's just me, given my personality. I did have some very nice conversations on Sunday, spoke briefly to my grandfather, had a long conversation with Kristy, and others, caught up with emails. In general, I had a pretty productive weekend as far as working at my To Do list, but somehow still seemed to have a lot of time on my hands. It was a disconcerting feeling, and I hate second-guessing myself, but there you go. I keep reminding myself not to be too hard on myself given that I am still adjusting to a new country, but I wish I would hurry up and adjust already!
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Poppink Patriarch
He doesn't read this, but first of all...Happy Birthday to my grandpa Poppink! He's 92 years young today, and he has been the foundation of our extended family on my mom's side for as long as I can remember and before. He's been all over the world, and made friends everywhere he's been, always has a story to tell, and a twinkle in his eye and we all adore him.
I found out yesterday while skyping with my parents that not only are we taking a road trip up to York and staying in a castle turned hotel for a couple of nights while my parents are here in April, but we are also taking part in a murder mystery while we're there! I'm a bit nervous as to what that participation will require, but have been assured I won't be murdered ;)
HSBC update- my first set of checks arrived yesterday. However, no PIN numbers for my credit and debit cards have yet shown up in the mail. I mean post.
I found out yesterday while skyping with my parents that not only are we taking a road trip up to York and staying in a castle turned hotel for a couple of nights while my parents are here in April, but we are also taking part in a murder mystery while we're there! I'm a bit nervous as to what that participation will require, but have been assured I won't be murdered ;)
HSBC update- my first set of checks arrived yesterday. However, no PIN numbers for my credit and debit cards have yet shown up in the mail. I mean post.
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Skype!
I became a member of Skype today, and as a result was able to have a free "phone call" although I guess they call it voice chat, for an hour with my parents. Are any of you Skype members? If so, let me know what your user name is, this is fantastic! I was pretty impressed with the quality, although obviously it wasn't perfect. The other great thing is that you can call landlines from your computer at really cheap rates! So now I don't have to worry about finding the best calling card or company over here with which to call the US...I'll just keep my Skype account charged! The download is free, any computer to computer voice chats are free, so if that's all you want to do, you don't pay any money. If you want to call landlines from your computer, as I probably will tomorrow for my grandpa's birthday, you just have to put some credit in your Skype account.
How embarrassing
Side note...Nicole had a day off and so was home yesterday morning while the BT guy worked on his repairs. Trying to be helpful, I'd left my laptop plugged in, and when the BT guy had finished, he went to test the internet connection on my computer. I came home from work only to want to sink through the floor when Nicole said the BT guy had thought I was cute. Note to self, no more desktop backgrounds of myself in a bikini and a Santa Hat (it was a photo from Atlantis)!!
On the pull
Last night Nicole and I were "on the pull" according to Nicole's boyfriend Dave. He texted her as we were getting ready to say he'd thought of a really great, sexy outfit for her to wear...sweats. "On the pull" is basically like saying on the prowl. You're out to meet people, dance, maybe get some phone numbers, etc. It was great, because I'd had one of those days where you're really loving being a woman, you know? On my walk home from the hospital it was sunny, several of my favorite songs were on the radio such as "Signs," "SOS," and of course Madonna's current women's power anthem "Sorry"- "I don't wanna hear, I don't wanna know, Please don't say you're sorry, I've heard it all before, and I can take care of myself" I may as well have been on a dance floor on my walk home! I'm not explaining this very well, so anywho...We went out to a bar called Abacus in Bank, the financial district of London, and I must say you see some interesting behavior from people who have come out straight from work and are looking to forget the week, especially the women I'm sorry to say. Sometimes you wonder if people were able to watch themselves on video the day after a night out, would they'd think twice about letting loose the next time? The bar was great, really big, nice dance floor downstairs, and our bartender looked like Joaquin Phoenix. There were a lot of good-looking guys, in fact. The women were wearing all sorts of clothing, a lot of them in jeans, most of the guys were in suits, or at least shirt and pants. Sorry, trousers. (The word pants refers to underwear over here). I'm exhausted this morning, but for some reason couldn't sleep any longer...probably had something to do with being too hot, I had to come downstairs to turn the heat off.
On a different note, Virgin internet broadband account appears to be finally working! Leeanne has a wireless modem, so hopefully after today, we can both be on at the same time, anywhere in the house. There was in fact some sort of technical problem, which the BT engineer was able to sort out for us yesterday morning. It's all very exciting!
It has really warmed up quite a bit these past few days, I may have to give up on wearing a coat I get so warm on my walks to work. There have been some patches of rain, but for the most part, it's been pretty sunny as well. It must mean that the drought is getting even worse, for as much as I am enjoying the weather.
Plans for today...my HSBC debit and credit card arrived yesterday in the mail, so I am feeling more confident that my account is now definitely open. Which means I should have money in it as of Wednesday! So to celebrate, I'm going with Nicole to the gym today to sign up and maybe get my orientation/induction thing Nicole says they have to do. If I can go ahead and work out, I will. Otherwise, the sun is out yet again, so I think I'll go for a run. May not sound all that thrilling, but for as much as I love a night out, I love being productive and just chilling out on a weekend...sometimes more than going out I think ;) This week coming up I've got plans for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights, which makes me tired just thinking about it. But then I've got a three day weekend, so it's all good.
Tomorrow, or really this evening I guess, we turn the clocks forward here...last time I was in Europe for spring, I was in Stockholm with Kristy, and we had no idea about the time change, because it happens here about a week earlier than in the States. And with the news broadcasts all happening in Swedish, we had no idea. Unfortunately, it was my travel day, and that meant I missed my bus to the airport. So I spent an exhorbitant sum of money on a taxi because I couldn't miss my flight from Stockholm - I had to get back in time to catch the next flight with my friend Jo to Ireland! I don't think I'll ever miss the time change again.
On a different note, Virgin internet broadband account appears to be finally working! Leeanne has a wireless modem, so hopefully after today, we can both be on at the same time, anywhere in the house. There was in fact some sort of technical problem, which the BT engineer was able to sort out for us yesterday morning. It's all very exciting!
It has really warmed up quite a bit these past few days, I may have to give up on wearing a coat I get so warm on my walks to work. There have been some patches of rain, but for the most part, it's been pretty sunny as well. It must mean that the drought is getting even worse, for as much as I am enjoying the weather.
Plans for today...my HSBC debit and credit card arrived yesterday in the mail, so I am feeling more confident that my account is now definitely open. Which means I should have money in it as of Wednesday! So to celebrate, I'm going with Nicole to the gym today to sign up and maybe get my orientation/induction thing Nicole says they have to do. If I can go ahead and work out, I will. Otherwise, the sun is out yet again, so I think I'll go for a run. May not sound all that thrilling, but for as much as I love a night out, I love being productive and just chilling out on a weekend...sometimes more than going out I think ;) This week coming up I've got plans for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights, which makes me tired just thinking about it. But then I've got a three day weekend, so it's all good.
Tomorrow, or really this evening I guess, we turn the clocks forward here...last time I was in Europe for spring, I was in Stockholm with Kristy, and we had no idea about the time change, because it happens here about a week earlier than in the States. And with the news broadcasts all happening in Swedish, we had no idea. Unfortunately, it was my travel day, and that meant I missed my bus to the airport. So I spent an exhorbitant sum of money on a taxi because I couldn't miss my flight from Stockholm - I had to get back in time to catch the next flight with my friend Jo to Ireland! I don't think I'll ever miss the time change again.
Friday, March 24, 2006
TGIF
It's been somewhat of an interesting day...the BT engineer came over to our house this morning. My roommate Nicole had the day off, and she sent me a text saying all of our phone lines are working again, but he was unable to sort out our internet problems. Agghhh. I really don't care what it costs at this point, there has got to be some internet service that we can get to work at the house! I had a meeting with my supervisor this morning to talk about my objectives specific to the Day Hospital (which should be achieved by end of September), as well as my PDP (personal development plan). Evidently the PDP is much more tailored to my goals as an OT overall...for example, I can develop a plan to gain more experience working with adults who've suffered stroke, and suggest courses I might be able to take, the fact that I'd like to work on a stroke rotation, etc. I'm happy to know I'm not restricted in my Personal Development Planning by whatever rotation I happen to be on. I would mention EI, but as there isn't really such a thing over here, it's probably not worth it at the moment. This afternoon, 6 wards at the hospital were shut down due to D&V (diarrhea and vomiting), and the physios who work at the day hospitals also work part time on the wards. We had to send all of their patients home without having seen a physio, because our physios are effectively quarantined at least until Monday (the infection control team doesn't want staff members who have been on "closed" wards to work on "open" wards after having been exposed themselves). It's all a bit foreign to me, given that this has never been necessary in hospitals I've worked in in the US. If some of the staff members working on those 6 wards today were to develop D&V themselves, they'd then be on a mandatory 10 day sick leave. And finally, I had a very sweet patient tell me this afternoon that I should get married and have children, because I'm a pretty girl and I'll have pretty children, and it would be a shame for me not to marry. She told me I had plenty of time, what was I, 20? 22? She was shocked at my real age, but then laughed and said I had plenty of time. I must say, I quite agree ;) And the whole, what are you doing over here refrain, with various derogatory comments being made about the UK, is beginning to become a bit of a broken record. I'm happy to say it's doesn't really bother me any more.
I don't have any big plans for the weekend...bit of a girls night out tonight with Nicole, sort of in the financial district area of London, to see who we might meet ;) but other than that, I'll just see if anything else develops. I'm hoping to join the gym, that is if they don't need the initial payment immediately. Otherwise, I might see if I can't figure out some sort of trip within England for my 3-day weekend next weekend.
And I will be writing an update email to our little BSOT group, but since I've meaning to say something ever since I got the initial email and then the pictures...Julie and Joey, congratulations!! What an absolutely beautiful little baby. This must be the thrill of your lives, and we are all smiling from ear to ear for your happiness!
Love to all, Allison.
I don't have any big plans for the weekend...bit of a girls night out tonight with Nicole, sort of in the financial district area of London, to see who we might meet ;) but other than that, I'll just see if anything else develops. I'm hoping to join the gym, that is if they don't need the initial payment immediately. Otherwise, I might see if I can't figure out some sort of trip within England for my 3-day weekend next weekend.
And I will be writing an update email to our little BSOT group, but since I've meaning to say something ever since I got the initial email and then the pictures...Julie and Joey, congratulations!! What an absolutely beautiful little baby. This must be the thrill of your lives, and we are all smiling from ear to ear for your happiness!
Love to all, Allison.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Fiver (five pounds)
Midge and I are in agreement that the planets have been doing some sort of energetic dance for a bit now, upsetting the order of things...Midge suggested a polka, I'm thinking maybe salsa (one step forward, two steps back). Hopefully, they'll be getting back into rhythm soon. I am seeing potential signs of it, with my bank visit yesterday, and a phone call from BT saying they'll be out tomorrow to our house to check out our DSL line.
I'm feeling quite a bit restless tonight...I guess since I had plans to be out that were postponed, I'm trying to figure out what to do with myself instead. Given that I unfortunately spilled an Indian curry type dish all down myself when I was startled by the phone ringing while eating dinner, I suppose laundry might be a good idea.
Interestingly enough, I had an email today that said Coldplay would be world-premiering their new video on Channel 4 late tonight. I don't know if that's a Coldplay thing or a UK thing, but I think it's cool they're doing this on a public access channel-especially since we only get 5 channels via our antenna ;)
I found out today that there's something called the Whipps Cross University Hospital Five Pounds Club, where every so often, the staff at my hospital can get tickets to West End shows for five pounds (fiver). Not for all plays/musicals mind you, but when the offer comes up, it's generally pretty good. Like today, I was able to book two tickets to see a new Andrew Lloyd Webber musical called Whistle Down the Wind for next week. And with the booking fee, it was still only 12 pounds for both! For tickets that would otherwise have been 20-30 pounds. Now, if they would only offer tickets for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Next with Christian Slater...hmm, maybe I can find someone to take me ;)
This week's new word: poncey. I've no idea how it's spelled, that's my best guess. But it essentially means snobby, I think, or perhaps stuck up. Or maybe somewhat similar to posh; someone who looks down their nose sort of thing...you get the idea.
I'm feeling quite a bit restless tonight...I guess since I had plans to be out that were postponed, I'm trying to figure out what to do with myself instead. Given that I unfortunately spilled an Indian curry type dish all down myself when I was startled by the phone ringing while eating dinner, I suppose laundry might be a good idea.
Interestingly enough, I had an email today that said Coldplay would be world-premiering their new video on Channel 4 late tonight. I don't know if that's a Coldplay thing or a UK thing, but I think it's cool they're doing this on a public access channel-especially since we only get 5 channels via our antenna ;)
I found out today that there's something called the Whipps Cross University Hospital Five Pounds Club, where every so often, the staff at my hospital can get tickets to West End shows for five pounds (fiver). Not for all plays/musicals mind you, but when the offer comes up, it's generally pretty good. Like today, I was able to book two tickets to see a new Andrew Lloyd Webber musical called Whistle Down the Wind for next week. And with the booking fee, it was still only 12 pounds for both! For tickets that would otherwise have been 20-30 pounds. Now, if they would only offer tickets for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Next with Christian Slater...hmm, maybe I can find someone to take me ;)
This week's new word: poncey. I've no idea how it's spelled, that's my best guess. But it essentially means snobby, I think, or perhaps stuck up. Or maybe somewhat similar to posh; someone who looks down their nose sort of thing...you get the idea.
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Wheee!!
So it's been a pretty beautiful day all around. The sun has been out, it's been warm, finally starting to feel like spring, for starters. I had some really complimentary feedback after running my relaxation techniques session of my falls education group at the hospital. I spent an hour and a half at the bank, finally speaking to someone who actually seems to know what they're doing, and I am now in possession of my account number at least. They still have to verify my employment, so technically something could go wrong again, but I'm in favor of believing it's all sorted now. I like to think positive ;) And finally, I am writing this post from the comfort of my house!! Unfortunately, it's not a broadband DSL or cable connection...it's just a stopgap measure of a dial-up service and I'm not sure how much it is costing me, but it works! I'm online! At least until my roomies come home, I don't want to hog the phone line. I don't think I mentioned yesterday, so a slightly belated happy first day of spring to you all.
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
banking
well, i went round to the bank in person today, and was told my application had been rejected. i had not been told earlier (they ignored my protests that i had called repeatedly and no one was bothered to give me this information over the phone) because the person i had my initial appt with has been on holiday. since the original appt had been with this one particular woman, no one else felt any responsibility to follow up and tell me there had been a problem. customer service is a rare indeed over here. i think i shall be writing my first letter of complaint in this country a bit later on this week.
my application was rejected because my passport is expired (evidently, though i told her about it, the woman i had my first appt with did not photocopy the page at the back of my passport stating it is good until 2009)...and also because they were unable to verify my employment.
to top off this whole murphy's law debacle, i wouldn't be surprised if whipps cross payroll dept were to deny knowledge of my existence as a new employee on payday next week, and say i'll have to wait until end of april to be paid. now i've done everything in my power, contacting my manager and HR to make sure i will be paid by check at least, but i'm just saying, i wouldn't be surprised. if i do get the check next week, all i can do with it is take it to a cash converter, who will charge a hefty 5% of the total amount of my pay to cash it for me. dad, can you please double check for me that affinity accepts foreign checks? i think on the whole it's a better option to mail it back than to take it to the cash converter here.
meanwhile, i've had to beef up my american account with money from my ing savings account which were earmarked for a down-payment on a townhouse or something. ouch!
my application was rejected because my passport is expired (evidently, though i told her about it, the woman i had my first appt with did not photocopy the page at the back of my passport stating it is good until 2009)...and also because they were unable to verify my employment.
to top off this whole murphy's law debacle, i wouldn't be surprised if whipps cross payroll dept were to deny knowledge of my existence as a new employee on payday next week, and say i'll have to wait until end of april to be paid. now i've done everything in my power, contacting my manager and HR to make sure i will be paid by check at least, but i'm just saying, i wouldn't be surprised. if i do get the check next week, all i can do with it is take it to a cash converter, who will charge a hefty 5% of the total amount of my pay to cash it for me. dad, can you please double check for me that affinity accepts foreign checks? i think on the whole it's a better option to mail it back than to take it to the cash converter here.
meanwhile, i've had to beef up my american account with money from my ing savings account which were earmarked for a down-payment on a townhouse or something. ouch!
Thursday, March 16, 2006
"Barking"
Ok, it's official...I am barking...barking mad that is. Every single person I have met here, except my roommate Nicole of course, has told me I'm crazy for moving here from the US. Every single one. After a whole morning of lecture in my all day moving and handling induction today, the instructor decided to inquire about my accent this afternoon during the lab practical..."I've been trying to figure it out, is it Canadian?" And when I said no, I grew up in NJ, I'm an American, she said "Noo! I thought to myself, she couldn't possibly be American, no one would come to work over here from the US!" It's really beginning to feel like an insult, as if people think I'm stupid for moving here to work as an OT for a bit, although they don't actually come right out and say that. What I said back was basically,"Well, I didn't move here for the money!" but I suppose what I really meant was that I can afford not to make my choices based on money at the moment. It's unfortunate that we are all so money-focused, and that we judge ourselves and are judged by others based on the living that we make. Not that I am exempt, I guess I'm just very aware of this at the moment, having made a choice to take a gigantic salary cut to pursue other things that I want to do. And since the constant battering of comments like "Why on earth did you do that?" has been practically nonstop since my arrival, I must say it has made me question myself and whether I made a good decision. And I don't like that, because I do think I made the right choice for me at this point in time, it can just be hard to remember that when everyone else is insinuating that I made the wrong one. And Midge, this had made me think of you, and what you told me about what you went through as you made the move to the US- thanks for sharing your wisdom, I have remembered your advice!
I did have a rather nice moment the other day during a different orientation session, one about equality and diversity. We were talking about celebrations, and in the large group discussion afterward, we discovered that pretty much every group had been talking about celebration and holidays within the context of religion. So I raised my hand to say that since I'm American, we had talked a little our small group about Thanksgiving, Fourth of July and Halloween, which have no religious significance, but are rather cultural holidays instead. And our discussion leader said, yes, Americans seem to have lots of holidays, they celebrate a lot:) And I had not really thought about that before, given that I guess we all take it for granted in the US, and I'm only thinking about it now that I live somewhere else...but we do like to celebrate, and I really like that about my cultural heritage. As my parents can attest to, any excuse for a party, be it Cinqo de Mayo, someone's birthday, I've got some new recipes I really want to use...and I'm looking to have a party, a BBQ on the deck, or gathering people to go out. And I love my holidays- I still love Halloween as much as I did when I was a kid. For every holiday I get out the themed decorations, bake my grandmother's sugar cookies, and get dressed up (too bad I didn't think ahead to bring over St. Patty's stuff, like shamrock sunglasses and whatnot, though I do have my kelly green Guiness t-shirt). And thinking of you Kristy, I'm holding you accountable for our double belated bday celebration when you get over here in the summer!
I had something of another shock this morning in our moving and handling training, directly related to OT practice, so for those of you who are my fellow OTs, check out my other OT blog as I finally have an entry for that one again!
I did have a rather nice moment the other day during a different orientation session, one about equality and diversity. We were talking about celebrations, and in the large group discussion afterward, we discovered that pretty much every group had been talking about celebration and holidays within the context of religion. So I raised my hand to say that since I'm American, we had talked a little our small group about Thanksgiving, Fourth of July and Halloween, which have no religious significance, but are rather cultural holidays instead. And our discussion leader said, yes, Americans seem to have lots of holidays, they celebrate a lot:) And I had not really thought about that before, given that I guess we all take it for granted in the US, and I'm only thinking about it now that I live somewhere else...but we do like to celebrate, and I really like that about my cultural heritage. As my parents can attest to, any excuse for a party, be it Cinqo de Mayo, someone's birthday, I've got some new recipes I really want to use...and I'm looking to have a party, a BBQ on the deck, or gathering people to go out. And I love my holidays- I still love Halloween as much as I did when I was a kid. For every holiday I get out the themed decorations, bake my grandmother's sugar cookies, and get dressed up (too bad I didn't think ahead to bring over St. Patty's stuff, like shamrock sunglasses and whatnot, though I do have my kelly green Guiness t-shirt). And thinking of you Kristy, I'm holding you accountable for our double belated bday celebration when you get over here in the summer!
I had something of another shock this morning in our moving and handling training, directly related to OT practice, so for those of you who are my fellow OTs, check out my other OT blog as I finally have an entry for that one again!
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Touts
I went out in London last night with Viv and her friend, Louie, who is also Philippino, and is currently working as a nurse just outside London. We headed for Brick Lane near WhiteChapel for an Indian meal, or "a curry" as most people here would say. We were rather annoyed as we walked along with all the "touts"...guys trying to waylay us with promises of percentages off and free bottles of wine if we'd choose their restaurant. You couldn't look at a menu for even one second before being waylaid by these smooth-talkers. As we made our way down the street, we ran into a guy who came out of his sweetie-shop and told us his father was the local councilman...and that this kind of touting had been made illegal relatively recently, and that he constantly calls the police since there are still so many touts. Evidently, Brick Lane used to draw in a lot of customers, the streets would be packed he told us, but the touts have driven a lot of people away. So he gave us more than five local restaurants that had recently been in an article in the newspaper that did not use touts, and served good food at very reasonable prices. We went to one of them and discovered he was right. The food was absolutely delicious, and I think I just might go back end of May for the free-tasting night on Brick Lane that our new friend also told us about ;) I'm about to run out of time at the internet cafe, so I hope everyone is well, more later...
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
my first free drink at a pub:
After work yesterday, I went into the city to meet Viv because we wanted to do a Jack the Ripper walk at 7:30. We had a quick dinner and then went to a pub to warm up before our 2 hour walk. And at this pub, the bartender mistook my request for a half pint of cider as "I'll have a pint of cider"...and then I was bought my first drink by a London man, an additional half pint of cider. Unfortunately, that man was the pub manager, a chap of around 60ish- oh well! However, what this also meant was that about an hour into the walk, Viv and I were sprinting for a pub to use the toilet! And rushing, rushing so we wouldn't lose the tour, and probably confusing the heck out of the bartenders, who thought they had some customers! The tour was very good, very interesting, but for awhile there I thought I might have to find some bushes... ;)
So Cambridge...we saw several of the colleges, which were very beautiful, including the incredible chapel at Kings College. We learned a lot about the history of Cambridge, did some shopping at the weekend market, walked along "The Backs" with beautiful views of the colleges across the river Cam, and spent some time in the Fitzwilliam museum. We had a great night out on the town Sat night, with a lot of wine involved. And luckily we had booked into a wonderful b&b with an amazing breakfast, a very nice room, and very nice proprietors. On Sunday, we ended up in a pub for lunch on the outskirts of the city, where we saw some of the England v France rugby game (England was pounded), and ended up having to literally run to make our bus since we lost track of time a bit in the pub. (Not due to drink, mind you, I had a lime a soda!) Good thing I spent that month in the gym before I left! I do have pics, but still no internet at home, so I can't put any on here yet. And as I need to grab some lunch before our break is over, that's it for now. Love to all, Allison.
So Cambridge...we saw several of the colleges, which were very beautiful, including the incredible chapel at Kings College. We learned a lot about the history of Cambridge, did some shopping at the weekend market, walked along "The Backs" with beautiful views of the colleges across the river Cam, and spent some time in the Fitzwilliam museum. We had a great night out on the town Sat night, with a lot of wine involved. And luckily we had booked into a wonderful b&b with an amazing breakfast, a very nice room, and very nice proprietors. On Sunday, we ended up in a pub for lunch on the outskirts of the city, where we saw some of the England v France rugby game (England was pounded), and ended up having to literally run to make our bus since we lost track of time a bit in the pub. (Not due to drink, mind you, I had a lime a soda!) Good thing I spent that month in the gym before I left! I do have pics, but still no internet at home, so I can't put any on here yet. And as I need to grab some lunch before our break is over, that's it for now. Love to all, Allison.
Monday, March 13, 2006
Dodos
I finally have my own user ID and password at the hospital, so I'm trying to use the really awkward metal keyboard here in the cafeteria for an update. This is my induction (or orientation) week at Whipps Cross, so I couldn't actually take off any more time to spend with Viv...however, she is spending Tues, Wed, and Thurs with a different friend in Rumford I think it is, and then back with me for St. Patty's and all of next weekend.
So on Friday, we wandered around High St Kensington for a bit, met Jo and a friend of hers for lunch, and then walked to the Museum of Natural History. We wanted to see the 30-foot squid, but you had to have booked onto a guided tour for that, so after seeing the dinosaur and a few other displays, Viv and I wandered across the street to the Victoria andAlbert museum. Very impressive, but massive, so we only actually walked through a small portion of it. Oh, and by the way, we did see a show Thurs night-- Mary Poppins...very similar to the movie, but with a few different songs. The actress in the lead role was very good, and they had her flying over the audience.
Viv and I took off early Sat morning to spend the weekend in Cambridge, armed with some advice on the best colleges and museums to see, and some good bars. We got to the Central tube station, and it wasn't running! So we got on a bus to Stratford, which has a big bus station, and two tube lines, and is only 10 min from my house by bus. Well, we thought we got on the Jubilee tube there, but had actually gotten on the Silver Link Train line! So we ended up traveling all the way round to the western part of the city, where we got on the Jubilee tube, then switched to the Victoria tube, and finally arrived at the Victoria Coach station. We were able to get on the 9:30 bus(we'd booked for 8:30), and wouldn't you know it, the bus stopped at Stratford on the way out of town to Cambridge. Doh! However, we did get really great views of Parliament, Big Ben, London Eye, Tower of London, and Tower Bridge. And on our way back from Cambridge, we got off in Stratford, which made the journey just over an hour, which was nice and quick. Almost missed the bus in Cambridge though...more later, have to go back to training.
So on Friday, we wandered around High St Kensington for a bit, met Jo and a friend of hers for lunch, and then walked to the Museum of Natural History. We wanted to see the 30-foot squid, but you had to have booked onto a guided tour for that, so after seeing the dinosaur and a few other displays, Viv and I wandered across the street to the Victoria andAlbert museum. Very impressive, but massive, so we only actually walked through a small portion of it. Oh, and by the way, we did see a show Thurs night-- Mary Poppins...very similar to the movie, but with a few different songs. The actress in the lead role was very good, and they had her flying over the audience.
Viv and I took off early Sat morning to spend the weekend in Cambridge, armed with some advice on the best colleges and museums to see, and some good bars. We got to the Central tube station, and it wasn't running! So we got on a bus to Stratford, which has a big bus station, and two tube lines, and is only 10 min from my house by bus. Well, we thought we got on the Jubilee tube there, but had actually gotten on the Silver Link Train line! So we ended up traveling all the way round to the western part of the city, where we got on the Jubilee tube, then switched to the Victoria tube, and finally arrived at the Victoria Coach station. We were able to get on the 9:30 bus(we'd booked for 8:30), and wouldn't you know it, the bus stopped at Stratford on the way out of town to Cambridge. Doh! However, we did get really great views of Parliament, Big Ben, London Eye, Tower of London, and Tower Bridge. And on our way back from Cambridge, we got off in Stratford, which made the journey just over an hour, which was nice and quick. Almost missed the bus in Cambridge though...more later, have to go back to training.
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Aubergines
Just a quick note, because Viv and I are basically killing time until a pub that has sticky pudding opens up! (Viv says hi to everyone!) I went out to Heathrow early this morning to pick up Vivien, who'd had a good flight except they kept waking her up to force feed her...(she thinks no one will believe that, or that she was complaining about it!). We decided to venture out into Covent Garden where I found a few things in the Jubilee Market Hall to make my room more homey. We went in and out of a lot of shops, had some great Thai food for lunch (we discovered a new vegetable - eggplant fetus - aka baby eggplant- we think our server was wrong, they looked like big peas, but who knows), I introduced Viv to Neal's Yard and Neal's Yard Remedies, and then we made our way to Leicester Square. Unfortunately, none of the TKTS half-price tickets appealed to us, so we wandered around for a bit, and decided to wait for this particular pub to open at 6pm. We've done a bit of planning for our trip to Cambridge this weekend, and a bit of planning for our day in London tomorrow (Westminster, then we'll meet Jo for lunch and all head on to a museum). We've also done quite a bit of marveling at the weather...the sun has shined, and it's poured, and then the sun has shined again, and so on. Oh yeah, and I think we're going to do a Jack the Ripper walking tour. It's just coming up to 6 now, so that's it for the moment.
Oh, Kristy, before I forget, I did hear from your sister, and we made plans for after Viv heads back to the States!
XOXO
Oh, Kristy, before I forget, I did hear from your sister, and we made plans for after Viv heads back to the States!
XOXO
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Slang
Ok, everyone, the first lesson in English slang...toward the end of the night on the booze cruise this past Saturday, the DJ started playing better and better music. At one point, Dave leaned over and told me, "This music is pucker!" (think I've got the spelling right, that's how he spelled it anyway). Pucker basically means-- really, really good. Just thought y'all would want to know ;)
As far as the hospital goes, I am taking the first two of my three days off this month for tomorrow and Friday. My friend Viv arrives at the crack of dawn tomorrow from NJ!! And I made our reservations to spend Saturday night in Cambridge today. Nicole always seems to have something cooking, so I'm betting on a big night out here in London on Friday as well...
I'm off to have dinner with my friend Jo, but I'll update again soon I hope. (Unfortunately, we're having difficulty setting up the internet at our house, so I'm still using internet cafes at the moment.)
As far as the hospital goes, I am taking the first two of my three days off this month for tomorrow and Friday. My friend Viv arrives at the crack of dawn tomorrow from NJ!! And I made our reservations to spend Saturday night in Cambridge today. Nicole always seems to have something cooking, so I'm betting on a big night out here in London on Friday as well...
I'm off to have dinner with my friend Jo, but I'll update again soon I hope. (Unfortunately, we're having difficulty setting up the internet at our house, so I'm still using internet cafes at the moment.)
Monday, March 06, 2006
Aussies, Kiwis, and finally! A bank account!
A couple of things to write about today, since I was unable to get onto Blogger over the weekend. First of all, it's been bugging me all the Yankee baseball caps I see people wearing over here. Yankee fans get a lot of **** in the US, basically bc other fans think it's not hard to be a Yankees fan since they win a lot. However, the past few years the Yanks haven't gone to the World Series, and I haven't given up on them or changed my allegiance. Even living in Red Sox Nation, I still followed the Yanks. But wearing my baseball cap over here is basically meaningless, no one is really going to look at it and think, oh she's a Yankees fan. At most they'll think I like the US/New York, or American fashion. Argh.
I did successfully open a bank account today, yay, with the help of a very friendly young woman at HSBC. Of course, my account is technically approved until the end of the week, but it's finally a step in the right direction. Wonder when I'll find out what my NID number is?
This weekend, I went on a boat cruise (yes, yes, alright a booze cruise) on the Thames river. I only had two beers, since I knew I had plans for the following day, but I met a bunch of really nice Australians who are acquaintances of my roommate Nicole. Nicole took some great pictures, one in particular where we are framed again the Tower Bridge which is all lit up since the tour was at night...as soon as I can access the internet from home (hopefully by tomorrow if Leanne and I can figure out how to set it up), I will post those photos from the boat cruise on here. Sunday, I went to "The Church," which is not religious services (although I suppose it probably was to some who were there) but rather drinking and dancing and general merriment. I met a bunch of people Nicole knows who are from New Zealand there...all really nice for the most part-- except I was cold, so Nicole asked one of the guys to dance with me and warm me up...unfortunately he was a bit drunk and I had a bit of trouble getting rid of him, end of the afternoon. He eventually realized I was serious about having to work on Monday, and would not be joining the rest of them for an "afterparty" at an Australian pub, because I just walked off with Nicole and her boyfriend. So "The Church" was fun, although I don't think I'll repeat the experience very often...I like my Sundays for relaxing and gearing up for the work week!
I am getting ready for Viv's arrival on Thursday, hopefully getting everything together for a weekend in Cambridge. She'll spend most of her time here with me, I think, although she does have another friend she'll probably spend a few nights with as well. But I'm coming up with plans for the second weekend she'll be here as well-- see what trouble we can get into! Right, Viv?! I've been getting some advice on nightclubs...
I think that's it for now...it's been sunny and cold here the past few days, although it is raining at the moment. Believe it or not, the UK is actually in something of a drought! love to all, allison.
I did successfully open a bank account today, yay, with the help of a very friendly young woman at HSBC. Of course, my account is technically approved until the end of the week, but it's finally a step in the right direction. Wonder when I'll find out what my NID number is?
This weekend, I went on a boat cruise (yes, yes, alright a booze cruise) on the Thames river. I only had two beers, since I knew I had plans for the following day, but I met a bunch of really nice Australians who are acquaintances of my roommate Nicole. Nicole took some great pictures, one in particular where we are framed again the Tower Bridge which is all lit up since the tour was at night...as soon as I can access the internet from home (hopefully by tomorrow if Leanne and I can figure out how to set it up), I will post those photos from the boat cruise on here. Sunday, I went to "The Church," which is not religious services (although I suppose it probably was to some who were there) but rather drinking and dancing and general merriment. I met a bunch of people Nicole knows who are from New Zealand there...all really nice for the most part-- except I was cold, so Nicole asked one of the guys to dance with me and warm me up...unfortunately he was a bit drunk and I had a bit of trouble getting rid of him, end of the afternoon. He eventually realized I was serious about having to work on Monday, and would not be joining the rest of them for an "afterparty" at an Australian pub, because I just walked off with Nicole and her boyfriend. So "The Church" was fun, although I don't think I'll repeat the experience very often...I like my Sundays for relaxing and gearing up for the work week!
I am getting ready for Viv's arrival on Thursday, hopefully getting everything together for a weekend in Cambridge. She'll spend most of her time here with me, I think, although she does have another friend she'll probably spend a few nights with as well. But I'm coming up with plans for the second weekend she'll be here as well-- see what trouble we can get into! Right, Viv?! I've been getting some advice on nightclubs...
I think that's it for now...it's been sunny and cold here the past few days, although it is raining at the moment. Believe it or not, the UK is actually in something of a drought! love to all, allison.
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Money? Who needs money?
It's been very frustrating trying to open up a bank account here...I have a letter from Whipps Cross addressed to me at my new address in Leytonstone, confirming my employment with Whipps Cross/NHS. However, this apparently does not suffice as proof of my new address. I have to either go and get a provisional drivers license, or get my name added to one of the utility bills which only arrive every 3 months or so, which apparently means I can't get a bank account for another several weeks at best. I still have one or two more banks to try, but so far that's been the song and dance.
Other than that, nothing much to report today. I have a huge headache which I haven't been able to get rid of all day, not much fun there. I did have two patients to see to today, which made for at least half a day's work. I met some more of the OTs, what else... Oh, and I've decided that since there are only two days really while Viv is here that make sense for me to take as days off, I'll do one more long weekend end of March, and just need to decide where to go.
I'll try to write again tomorrow or Friday...or wait, tomorrow is Friday. Jeez, time is flying! I will post again soon when my head is not pounding. Love to all, Allison.
Other than that, nothing much to report today. I have a huge headache which I haven't been able to get rid of all day, not much fun there. I did have two patients to see to today, which made for at least half a day's work. I met some more of the OTs, what else... Oh, and I've decided that since there are only two days really while Viv is here that make sense for me to take as days off, I'll do one more long weekend end of March, and just need to decide where to go.
I'll try to write again tomorrow or Friday...or wait, tomorrow is Friday. Jeez, time is flying! I will post again soon when my head is not pounding. Love to all, Allison.
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
short and sweet
I've noticed my entries have been a bit wordy, and a bit philosophical lately...Allison's views on life which are likely to change as I go along ;) Sorry about that, I'll try to get back to the shorter entries, though it's harder when I don't update every day. Yesterday and today have been very cold but very sunny, which I'm loving. Today I actually felt pretty warm outside in the sun during lunch. It's going to stay pretty cold here for awhile, but with the first of March, it does feel like spring is that much closer.
I made a pretty awful batch of pancakes from scratch last night...we don't have measuring cups, and I haven't quite got the measurements by eye here yet like I do with American measurements...they were edible, it's just that I do pride myself on being something of a good cook, and I would need more practice with making them from scratch! However, Leanne made some gorgeous paper thin crepe-like pancakes, and Nicole had some contraband Bisquick, so we had some American-style pancakes as well. We threw in blueberries and bananas, and although the maple syrup was missing, we made do with lemon juice, sugar and cinnamon.
I ran my first group today, part of a Falls Prevention series, at the Day Hospital. It was a pretty straightforward topic, but I figure the senior OT was also counting on the experience I'd already had working in NJ, since she's never seen me run a group before. She did offer to sit in on the group, but obviously had a lot of work to catch up on, so I said I'd be fine, and that was that. I suppose if I'd never run a group before I would have been nervous, but it went off without a hitch, despite a few differences in what I call things, and what they are apparently called over here. (For example, they're not home health aides, they're carers, or it's not a tub, it's a bath.) It's still very slow, but I think I'll start to have work to do from now on, and I was told today I could always call up the acute OT dept to see if they needed help if I'm ever bored.
That's it for now, I think I'm going to cook a really nice dinner tonight, so it's time to head for home. love, allison
I made a pretty awful batch of pancakes from scratch last night...we don't have measuring cups, and I haven't quite got the measurements by eye here yet like I do with American measurements...they were edible, it's just that I do pride myself on being something of a good cook, and I would need more practice with making them from scratch! However, Leanne made some gorgeous paper thin crepe-like pancakes, and Nicole had some contraband Bisquick, so we had some American-style pancakes as well. We threw in blueberries and bananas, and although the maple syrup was missing, we made do with lemon juice, sugar and cinnamon.
I ran my first group today, part of a Falls Prevention series, at the Day Hospital. It was a pretty straightforward topic, but I figure the senior OT was also counting on the experience I'd already had working in NJ, since she's never seen me run a group before. She did offer to sit in on the group, but obviously had a lot of work to catch up on, so I said I'd be fine, and that was that. I suppose if I'd never run a group before I would have been nervous, but it went off without a hitch, despite a few differences in what I call things, and what they are apparently called over here. (For example, they're not home health aides, they're carers, or it's not a tub, it's a bath.) It's still very slow, but I think I'll start to have work to do from now on, and I was told today I could always call up the acute OT dept to see if they needed help if I'm ever bored.
That's it for now, I think I'm going to cook a really nice dinner tonight, so it's time to head for home. love, allison
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
