A wonderful thing about London...when you blow your nose, greyish-blackish specks show up on the Kleenex. Ewww.
I am currently home, though I was meant to be in Oxford tonight. As it turns out, they have closed the Magdalen Bridge, thanks to overzealous revelers last year. May 1 was on a Sunday last year, so evidently the gathering at sunrise was estimated at something like 20,000 people, which included very drunk college students who'd been at college balls all night and decided to go and see the Magdalen singers, but more importantly, to jump into the river. Except the river was very shallow, and of something like 100 people who jumped, 50 were admitted to the hospital, and of those, 30 suffered serious injuries. As an Oxford University alum quipped, "and these are England's best and brightest..."
I was planning to stay with my friend Jo at a house just outside center city. But with the bridge closed, that would have meant I wouldn't get to see or hear anything, because I would have been on the wrong side of the bridge. So I ended up coming back into London instead. It's a bit of a let-down to say the least, as I was all excited about my long weekend plans, and am now relegated to boring tasks like laundry, and maybe working on my professional portfolio tomorrow.
I did go to the beer festival in Reading yesterday...I don't have photos for you all unfortunately, I did not take my camera. Good thing too, since I did take my cell phone and realized in a drunken haze after midnight that it was gone. It was a show of solidarity, haha, with my sister who just lost hers. However, a very nice man who must have been a taxi driver or some kind of security guard (he mentioned working the night shift) found it, and got in touch with me, so I had it back less than 24 hours later, thank goodness. Anywho, the festival was a lot of fun, with a great band- they played everything from a Ceilidh to I found myself singing along with "gimme, gimme, gimme, the honky tonk blues." There were in theory 400 some British ales, although a fair number weren't available as they'd run out the night before (this festival apparently doesn't allot beer out per day, whenever it runs out, it's out, even if it's only the first night of the festival). I had a pint of something called Easter Gold, and then switched over to Perry-- like cider, but it's made from pears. I really liked it! I think I had the one pint of beer, 1 pint of perry, and two half-pints of cider, which was more than enough to give me a massive headache this morning. Ouch.
Sunday, April 30, 2006
Friday, April 28, 2006
One patient to assess, who as it turns out does not need OT discharge and equipment services, and is not a likely rehab candidate either (I can't do rehab myself at the moment at the day hospital, but can refer to other OT services.) And that was it...one patient for the day. So I took a very last minute appointment for a 20 minute Indian head massage at the hospital. They've now started offering reflexology, half and full massages, and Indian head massage at discounted prices to hospital staff. It was pretty good, though I must say, the part I liked best is still the soft, playing in my hair sort of thing- I've loved that since I was a little girl!
I think I might need to get some dried lavender for our house, it's such a relaxing smell and I think I associate it with spas at this point.
Our Cinco de Mayo party is on for a week from today, with more people coming that I had originally thought. I think we've got 12 people who've said yes so far. It'll be interesting to see how it turns out, because we don't have real tortilla chips or salsa here (trust me, they're just different), although I will make guac from scratch, and make my homemade sangria. We're trying to figure out where we can get a pinata and sombreros, but so far, no luck.
I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the spring weather. Love to all. xoxo
I think I might need to get some dried lavender for our house, it's such a relaxing smell and I think I associate it with spas at this point.
Our Cinco de Mayo party is on for a week from today, with more people coming that I had originally thought. I think we've got 12 people who've said yes so far. It'll be interesting to see how it turns out, because we don't have real tortilla chips or salsa here (trust me, they're just different), although I will make guac from scratch, and make my homemade sangria. We're trying to figure out where we can get a pinata and sombreros, but so far, no luck.
I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the spring weather. Love to all. xoxo
Thursday, April 27, 2006
It's a mental thing
Job update: Ran one falls ed group this morning, went to a dept meeting for an hour and a half right after lunch, saw one patient, only had an hour to kill at the end of the day.
I had a patient today who is generally doing very well for herself. She is able to manage all of her personal care, all of her own cooking and household tasks, and still uses the bus to get around, including to get to the grocery store. However, as we went through the initial interview (as opposed to initial eval), it came about that she is currently fearful about getting into and out of her bath. She does still do it independently, but is concerned about falling. She has a non slip mat, but does not have grab rails apparently. However, when I suggested that I come round to have a look, and organize grab rails for her through the borough, she backtracked and said oh, but I do very well, I'm very independent, I don't need help etc. And I do find this, where people think that using equipment or accepting help means they are no longer independent. And no matter how well you can articulate that you want to support their independence, not take it away, and make them feel safe in their daily activities, some people just have the idea in their heads that if they don't take care of things themselves, they're no longer independent. The best I was able to get from my patient was that if she can't get grab rails installed herself, she'll give me a call.
I had a patient today who is generally doing very well for herself. She is able to manage all of her personal care, all of her own cooking and household tasks, and still uses the bus to get around, including to get to the grocery store. However, as we went through the initial interview (as opposed to initial eval), it came about that she is currently fearful about getting into and out of her bath. She does still do it independently, but is concerned about falling. She has a non slip mat, but does not have grab rails apparently. However, when I suggested that I come round to have a look, and organize grab rails for her through the borough, she backtracked and said oh, but I do very well, I'm very independent, I don't need help etc. And I do find this, where people think that using equipment or accepting help means they are no longer independent. And no matter how well you can articulate that you want to support their independence, not take it away, and make them feel safe in their daily activities, some people just have the idea in their heads that if they don't take care of things themselves, they're no longer independent. The best I was able to get from my patient was that if she can't get grab rails installed herself, she'll give me a call.
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Smorgasbord
I have decided it's not really a good idea to have two meals out on the same day. Today was payday, which means it's also the day all the Basic Grade OTs spend only half a day on our rotations, and then get together to work on Continuing Professional Development (CPD). Except first we go out for a nice long lunch. This month we decided to try the lunch buffet at an Indian restaurant, which was very good. And then this evening, Nicole invited me along to dinner at a tapas restaurant literally 3 minutes down the road from our house, with all the staff from the stroke rehab unit (Nicole did a previous rotation on the unit). Even though I was still full from lunch, I went along to meet everyone and theoretically try to get my foot in the door, even though they won't have any say in who gets the next rotation on their unit. One of the dishes I tried was chorizo, which I was really happy with as it seemed authentic. (I don't like sausage over here, so I was worried it would be an Anglicanized chorizo.) I also had stuffed eggplant (called aubergine), and fried goat cheese, and it was all very good, and I didn't feel like I over-ate. However, given the current rumblings in my tummy, I've now decided that two meals out in one day, or perhaps the combination of Indian and tapas, is not a good idea...and it's funny, given that I don't eat out that much, or at least not as much as I did in the US, that this dinner just happened to be planned for the one day of the month that a big lunch was already scheduled.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
"Do you have the time to listen to me whine, about nothing and everything all at once?"
I came home from work today and found a random voicemail message waiting for me on Skype. A voice that said something like,"Hi Allison, this is Sam (?) just trying out this Skype thing, sorry for calling you...." I clicked on his Skype userID which was unclothedmars and discovered his name is Sameer and he lives in Minneapolis. I have no idea who he is, or how he found my skypeID, or why he called me, and proceeded to leave a message- because I assume I am as much of a stranger to him as he is to me. As I said - random.
The physio that I work with asked me this morning whether I have been enjoying my time in England thus far. And I said that I'm still adjusting, given that everything hasn't gone exactly as planned, or exactly as I saw it in my head (but then again, what ever does?)...but I said that I've been excited lately because I've started to plan out my trips and vacation time. And I reflected out loud that that was important since the other half of my reasons for coming over here, my professional reasons, were currently kind of falling flat on their face. Which of course begged some sort of explanation for Annette, the OT Assistant and Angelica, the physio, even though my Falls Group patients were waiting for class to begin (well, not mine per se, but Ann is just back from vacation, and asked me if I wouldn't mind doing her class again this week). So I said, you have to understand, I was working in an inpatient rehab hospital in NJ, where on average I had 13-15 patients a day ("a DAY?!" was the reaction from Angelica), and I'm not learning anything sitting here trying to look busy every afternoon. At which point Annette chimed in to say, yes I think we don't really need a full-time OT here, Ann and I manage, and I can see where this isn't of benefit to you professionally. So then I mentioned that I also wasn't aware before I arrived that the rotations are doled out based on preference sheets that each of the Basic Grade OTs hand in two months or so before the next rotation - and that Barbara tries to be fair in assigning the rotations. Thus, if someone has put down that they want stroke rehab for the past two or three rotations and not yet had it, they would get it over me, the newcomer. So Annette told me I should make it clear to Barbara that I had come over here specifically with the intention of getting experience in neuro and specifically stroke rehab, and that I deserved to get stroke rehab (that second part is Annette speaking, not that I should say to Barbara "I deserve..."). She went on to say the last Basic Grade they'd had at the Day Hospital had moved on to the stroke rehab unit and really didn't have the skills to have done so. As much as I was flattered by Annette's implied compliments, and as much as I REALLY want the stroke unit, it burns me up because I do respect what Barbara has tried to do with the rotations. They are in place for OTs to learn, and you'd have all kinds of problems if you didn't do the assignments as fairly as possible. Meaning, you can't be assigning all the "choice" rotations always to the same OTs, even if they are the most skilled or best performers or whatever. The Basic Grade position is meant to help new OTs learn, and if they aren't challenged, they won't gain clinical experience. Which gives me another reason to scream silently AGGGGGGGH because my almost a year's worth of experience in the US amounts to pretty much nothing...I should be entitled to apply for a Senior II rotation based on work experience (and my skills, now that I've seen the level the other Basic Grades are performing at!), but you know us American OTs, who knows whether we'll be any good!
Sorry...but that made me feel better :) Anyway, so I was saying I've been happily making travel plans recently, and Angelica was saying how great that was, that I'm able to at least fulfill the personal goals I had in coming over here. She's talking about how she'd like to live in NYC for awhile, but won't be able to work there as a physio, or most places for that matter, so she's feeling a bit trapped and stagnated at the moment. I've been talking with her about Italy, which she might join me for, but if not, she said she's definitely up for a long weekend in Prague. I'll be in Oxford for part of this upcoming weekend, I've been invited out to Kristy's sister's house for the following weekend, and I'm hoping to make plans with Nicole Levesque pretty soon - she arrives on Friday! Hawaii and Vermont in July, someplace beachy in August (Turkey, Spain, Morocco?). I'm thinking Oktoberfest as well, maybe the Christmas markets in early December, and who knows how many weekend trips in between. Like the Scottish Highlands this summer...mmm, that would be nice.
In the short term, my roommates and I have just about decided on throwing a small Cinco de Mayo party (bringing a bit of that 'Americans will take any excuse to celebrate' culture to England!), small because we each probably only know 3-4 people to invite. I'm excited about the menu of course, and was trying to persuade my roommates we should have one just so I could have an excuse to make homemade guacamole and homemade sangria! Fiesta!! Or better yet...TEQUILA! Duh-duh-da-duh-da-duh-duh-da (you have to hear the sax in your head, I can't do it justice with da's and duh's)
The physio that I work with asked me this morning whether I have been enjoying my time in England thus far. And I said that I'm still adjusting, given that everything hasn't gone exactly as planned, or exactly as I saw it in my head (but then again, what ever does?)...but I said that I've been excited lately because I've started to plan out my trips and vacation time. And I reflected out loud that that was important since the other half of my reasons for coming over here, my professional reasons, were currently kind of falling flat on their face. Which of course begged some sort of explanation for Annette, the OT Assistant and Angelica, the physio, even though my Falls Group patients were waiting for class to begin (well, not mine per se, but Ann is just back from vacation, and asked me if I wouldn't mind doing her class again this week). So I said, you have to understand, I was working in an inpatient rehab hospital in NJ, where on average I had 13-15 patients a day ("a DAY?!" was the reaction from Angelica), and I'm not learning anything sitting here trying to look busy every afternoon. At which point Annette chimed in to say, yes I think we don't really need a full-time OT here, Ann and I manage, and I can see where this isn't of benefit to you professionally. So then I mentioned that I also wasn't aware before I arrived that the rotations are doled out based on preference sheets that each of the Basic Grade OTs hand in two months or so before the next rotation - and that Barbara tries to be fair in assigning the rotations. Thus, if someone has put down that they want stroke rehab for the past two or three rotations and not yet had it, they would get it over me, the newcomer. So Annette told me I should make it clear to Barbara that I had come over here specifically with the intention of getting experience in neuro and specifically stroke rehab, and that I deserved to get stroke rehab (that second part is Annette speaking, not that I should say to Barbara "I deserve..."). She went on to say the last Basic Grade they'd had at the Day Hospital had moved on to the stroke rehab unit and really didn't have the skills to have done so. As much as I was flattered by Annette's implied compliments, and as much as I REALLY want the stroke unit, it burns me up because I do respect what Barbara has tried to do with the rotations. They are in place for OTs to learn, and you'd have all kinds of problems if you didn't do the assignments as fairly as possible. Meaning, you can't be assigning all the "choice" rotations always to the same OTs, even if they are the most skilled or best performers or whatever. The Basic Grade position is meant to help new OTs learn, and if they aren't challenged, they won't gain clinical experience. Which gives me another reason to scream silently AGGGGGGGH because my almost a year's worth of experience in the US amounts to pretty much nothing...I should be entitled to apply for a Senior II rotation based on work experience (and my skills, now that I've seen the level the other Basic Grades are performing at!), but you know us American OTs, who knows whether we'll be any good!
Sorry...but that made me feel better :) Anyway, so I was saying I've been happily making travel plans recently, and Angelica was saying how great that was, that I'm able to at least fulfill the personal goals I had in coming over here. She's talking about how she'd like to live in NYC for awhile, but won't be able to work there as a physio, or most places for that matter, so she's feeling a bit trapped and stagnated at the moment. I've been talking with her about Italy, which she might join me for, but if not, she said she's definitely up for a long weekend in Prague. I'll be in Oxford for part of this upcoming weekend, I've been invited out to Kristy's sister's house for the following weekend, and I'm hoping to make plans with Nicole Levesque pretty soon - she arrives on Friday! Hawaii and Vermont in July, someplace beachy in August (Turkey, Spain, Morocco?). I'm thinking Oktoberfest as well, maybe the Christmas markets in early December, and who knows how many weekend trips in between. Like the Scottish Highlands this summer...mmm, that would be nice.
In the short term, my roommates and I have just about decided on throwing a small Cinco de Mayo party (bringing a bit of that 'Americans will take any excuse to celebrate' culture to England!), small because we each probably only know 3-4 people to invite. I'm excited about the menu of course, and was trying to persuade my roommates we should have one just so I could have an excuse to make homemade guacamole and homemade sangria! Fiesta!! Or better yet...TEQUILA! Duh-duh-da-duh-da-duh-duh-da (you have to hear the sax in your head, I can't do it justice with da's and duh's)
Monday, April 24, 2006
Homeless
http://wanderingscribe.blogspot.com/
I read an article about this blog on the BBC web site and had to go find the blog myself. This woman has been homeless-living out of her car- for about 8 months now. She evidently keeps up her appearance by taking showers and ironing her clothing in hospitals, and uses whatever benefit money she gets toward food and gas. She is incredibly articulate- a stark juxtaposition to what we perhaps stereotypically expect to find in a homeless person. Her blog is humbling (and that is an understatement), and challenges the rest of us to take a good, long hard look at what we take for granted every day.
Kristy, this made me think of that research proposal you did for Diana, and I've been musing on occupational deprivation, specifically as it relates to homelessness, as I've been sifting through this woman's blog.
I read an article about this blog on the BBC web site and had to go find the blog myself. This woman has been homeless-living out of her car- for about 8 months now. She evidently keeps up her appearance by taking showers and ironing her clothing in hospitals, and uses whatever benefit money she gets toward food and gas. She is incredibly articulate- a stark juxtaposition to what we perhaps stereotypically expect to find in a homeless person. Her blog is humbling (and that is an understatement), and challenges the rest of us to take a good, long hard look at what we take for granted every day.
Kristy, this made me think of that research proposal you did for Diana, and I've been musing on occupational deprivation, specifically as it relates to homelessness, as I've been sifting through this woman's blog.
Must come from working with older adults...
Found this web site, www.AgeHumor.com, and man, some of these are hilarious! Just a few from a very long list...
Old musicians never die, they just decompose
Old kids never die, they just grow up
Old blondes never fade, they just dye away
Old swimmers never die, they just have a stroke
Old academics never die, they just lose their faculties
Old bosses never die, much as you want them to.
Old card players never die, they just lose their tricks
Old cricketers never die, they just get bowled over
Old doctors never die, they just lose their patience
Old fireflies never die, they just find that they can't glow on
Old fishermen never die, their rods just go limp
Old fishermen never die, they just smell that way
Old geologists never die, they just petrify
Old golfers never die, they just lose their balls
Old musicians never die, they just decompose
Old kids never die, they just grow up
Old blondes never fade, they just dye away
Old swimmers never die, they just have a stroke
Old academics never die, they just lose their faculties
Old bosses never die, much as you want them to.
Old card players never die, they just lose their tricks
Old cricketers never die, they just get bowled over
Old doctors never die, they just lose their patience
Old fireflies never die, they just find that they can't glow on
Old fishermen never die, their rods just go limp
Old fishermen never die, they just smell that way
Old geologists never die, they just petrify
Old golfers never die, they just lose their balls
Sunday, April 23, 2006
St. George's Day
Today is St. George's Day, St. George being the patron saint of England. His emblem is a red cross on a white background and was brought to England in the 12th century by Richard the Lion Heart. Believe it or not, the flag of England is a red cross on a white background! (I think we foreigners tend to think the Union Jack is the flag.) However, unlike other countries, such as Ireland and St. Patrick's Day, today is not a holiday, nor is it treated like a National Day. In fact, a lot of people over here have no idea when St. George's Day is, beyond "er, sometime in April?"
The London Marathon has been going on this morning. I would almost run it just for the fact that you get to run over the Tower Bridge...almost. But I know my body too well to ever try and run for that distance and length of time! It must be pretty cool to run over the Tower Bridge with thunderous cheering all around you, though.
Cry God for Harry, England and Saint George!
William Shakespeare (Henry V)
The London Marathon has been going on this morning. I would almost run it just for the fact that you get to run over the Tower Bridge...almost. But I know my body too well to ever try and run for that distance and length of time! It must be pretty cool to run over the Tower Bridge with thunderous cheering all around you, though.
Saturday, April 22, 2006
Freedom on wheels
I thought not having a car would be a great thing...and it is. Even though you can get a used car pretty cheaply over here, there was no need for an initial chunk of money to buy a car. I don't have to worry about car insurance, car tax, car registration, paying for driving lessons and getting a British driver's license, or paying for petrol(gas). And that's a financially sound decision-not to have a car-as I am living in London with a great public transportation system where it is definitely possible to get around using the tube, buses, trains, or of course, my own feet. Not to mention the airports! Public transportation can have it's share of closures or delays which can be as bad as a standstill traffic jam, and it quite often takes me a couple of hours to get where I want to go, but still, I can get just about anywhere. However, I miss driving. I miss my car. I miss the independence of being able to take off and go wherever, whenever I want.
Friday, April 21, 2006
Movin right along, let's get this show on the highway...
I'm going to give this post by email thing a try, on another (surprise, surprise) slow afternoon. New happenings: travel! I've booked my flights for a short trip to Italy over Memorial Day Weekend, as the Monday is also a holiday here (although I don't know what the reason is for the British holiday). I've taken Friday off as well, to have a nice long weekend. My roommate has backed out out of the trip, so I invited the physio I work with...it's actually not a big deal if I go alone, since I'll be staying with the Florys, but I thought it'd be fun to bring someone else along. I'm so excited I can hardly wait!
I've also made plans with my friend Jo to return to Oxford for May Day...which is not this weekend but next. I've got that Monday off as well, so I'll go to Oxford for Sunday and Monday. Bright and early Monday morning with the sunrise, there are singers on the tower of a college that overlooks the Thames. Apparently university students who are still drunk from the night before will be jumping off the bridge into the river. And I plan on finally going to evensong at Christ Church the night before (meant to do that before leaving Oxford last time). I'm really looking forward to that as well, I loved being in Oxford, even though it was for a very short time.
Oh, and we also planned a trip to an amusement park near London for early June...I don't know if I'll spell it right, but from how Jo said it, I think it might be Thaught Park. She has a number of buy one get one free entrance coupons, so although it's not an exotic trip or anything, it should be fun!
I've also made plans with my friend Jo to return to Oxford for May Day...which is not this weekend but next. I've got that Monday off as well, so I'll go to Oxford for Sunday and Monday. Bright and early Monday morning with the sunrise, there are singers on the tower of a college that overlooks the Thames. Apparently university students who are still drunk from the night before will be jumping off the bridge into the river. And I plan on finally going to evensong at Christ Church the night before (meant to do that before leaving Oxford last time). I'm really looking forward to that as well, I loved being in Oxford, even though it was for a very short time.
Oh, and we also planned a trip to an amusement park near London for early June...I don't know if I'll spell it right, but from how Jo said it, I think it might be Thaught Park. She has a number of buy one get one free entrance coupons, so although it's not an exotic trip or anything, it should be fun!
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Some good news in our family - Tressa has been offered a job! And it looks like she may very well take it. It's with a Catholic NGO, and she would do a year's fellowship in Rwanda first, after which they'd offer her a "proper" job, from what I understand. I think at this point we can call it a love affair with Africa!
I have had another slow afternoon, where I have actually run out of things to do to make myself busy. I found myself daydreaming about whether I'll want to buy a place out in Colorado with beautiful mountain vistas, or in NJ where most of my close friends and parents are, or perhaps a bit farther south on the ocean, such as North Carolina. Choices, choices! But that's getting way ahead of myself. At the moment, I'm trying to get coordinated with Maja (ex-roommate from Boston who is currently living in Sarajevo) for a vacation in late August-- my latest idea today is perhaps Morocco. And my friend from Tufts, Nicole, has finally had her work permit come through, so she'll be getting her flight to begin life in Guildford, Surrey weekend after this one. So congrats to Tressa and Nicole!!
I have had another slow afternoon, where I have actually run out of things to do to make myself busy. I found myself daydreaming about whether I'll want to buy a place out in Colorado with beautiful mountain vistas, or in NJ where most of my close friends and parents are, or perhaps a bit farther south on the ocean, such as North Carolina. Choices, choices! But that's getting way ahead of myself. At the moment, I'm trying to get coordinated with Maja (ex-roommate from Boston who is currently living in Sarajevo) for a vacation in late August-- my latest idea today is perhaps Morocco. And my friend from Tufts, Nicole, has finally had her work permit come through, so she'll be getting her flight to begin life in Guildford, Surrey weekend after this one. So congrats to Tressa and Nicole!!
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Jet
For those of you who know of my tradition of buying jewelry rather than souvenirs on my trips, this is my latest addition. They were bought in Whitby over Easter weekend, and the stones are what they call "jet," apparently black amber. It's unique to that particular area of England, and evidently the Queen owns several pieces of jet specifically made for her by various craftsmen.
Jet earrings from Whitby
Jet earrings from Whitby
Oh, the tangled webs we weave...
Beaurocracy and red tape are just so much fun! I had a phone call from the daughter-in-law of a former patient at the Day Hospital. They need a new type of commode that will fit over the top of their toilet, and as the patient only left an in-patient rehab ward at my hospital a week ago, they first phoned up the OTs there. The daughter-in-law was told by the OTs there to phone social services. Social services said to phone the person who originally issued the commode (Ann, my supervisor, who is still on her Easter holiday). However, since the patient was discharged from the Day Hospital, we can't provide services for her at the moment. It just seems ridiculous...I suppose the rehab OTs couldn't provide a new commode for the same reason, but it's just become a game of passing the buck. I've told the poor woman I'll have Ann call her back next week, and hopefully we'll be able to assist in finding the right person to get them a new commode.
I am without enough work again, but no one at the main department needs any help, aside from someone to sit in the office and man the phones...which is a waste of resources to have me do that, but with nothing better to do...I mean I'd just be sitting at the Day Hospital trying to look busy, same as here. I know I was stressed out over caseload in NJ, and was wishing I could have a more manageable number of patients to be seen daily, but I hadn't wanted this much of a reduction! Combine that with I'm not really enjoying doing discharge work/home modification, and I'm already looking forward to my next rotation, which is months away!
I am without enough work again, but no one at the main department needs any help, aside from someone to sit in the office and man the phones...which is a waste of resources to have me do that, but with nothing better to do...I mean I'd just be sitting at the Day Hospital trying to look busy, same as here. I know I was stressed out over caseload in NJ, and was wishing I could have a more manageable number of patients to be seen daily, but I hadn't wanted this much of a reduction! Combine that with I'm not really enjoying doing discharge work/home modification, and I'm already looking forward to my next rotation, which is months away!
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
I know I said I wasn't going to talk about the weekend, but post the pictures instead, however, there's something of a funny story involved. Or at least, I thought it was funny, maybe you had to have been there. You can decide for yourselves...so we participated in this interactive murder mystery weekend where the suspects mingled in character, as part of their character development. We were made fun of a lot, as were another American couple sitting near us, a Canadian, a group of people from Glasgow, and a woman who was practically popping out of her shirt in most of the outfits she wore (this mystery went on for two dinners and two breakfasts). The main actor decided the sixteen-year-old young man at the table next to her was "copping an eyeful" every chance he got, and announced this observation to the rest of us. It was quite funny, and overall, very well done I think. My mom won the "Close but No Cigar" award, for figuring out who'd done it, and half of the motive. There was no prize for this award, other than a statement near the bottom of her certificate which stated she should congratulate herself on not having submitted a theory so pathetically off base as to have earned her the "Plonker" award. The certificate was actually very funny, but I can't remember the rest.
Monday, April 17, 2006
York has this really great medieval city wall, very well preserved, which almost completely encircles the old city. The wall runs about 3 miles around, and you can walk the entire circle. We heard ethereal singing from the Minster as we walked the wall, and you could almost imagine yourself back in the middle ages. The original castle, Clifford's Tower, was built by William the Conquerer.
"The Shambles" in York...most towns used to have what they called the shambles were animals were slaughtered for meat, and butchers' shops were found. This area in York is famous for the old old buildings which lean toward each other over the narrow street...the two in the middle of this picture are so close they almost touch.
Thursday, April 13, 2006
A gala affair
This morning, I received approval for my vacation days between Christmas and New Years...I was really surprised to get it, as I'd been told I wouldn't get an official yes or no until October (because I will be on a different rotation when Christmas comes around, and there's no telling which one until October). Annette was standing next to me as I was wondering about getting approval back so early, and threatened me to within an inch of my life that I was still to attend the Connaught Day Hospital Christmas ball, even though I would be on a different rotation. Guess that gives me plenty of time to find a date.
I was in central London yesterday afternoon for an AMPS support meeting (check it out, I've updated my OT blog, about time!) which took place at The National Hospital for Neuroscience and Neurology, or something like that. It was near the tube station of Holborn (pronounced Ho-bun), which was where I had agreed with my parents to meet at 7:15 for a walk entitled "Ghosts, Gaslight, and Guinness."
I walked out of the meeting a little after 5pm, and started to wander around, looking for a place to eat. It took me awhile to realize I had voice messages on my phone, and my parents had actually sat down for tea at Harrods and expected me to join them. For whatever reason, you do feel very posh sitting on the balcony of the Terrace Restaurant at Harrods for tea, and my parents decided to do the whole high tea shebang, with scones, clotted cream, finger sandwiches, and desserts. We did manage to get back to Holborn in time for the walk, which was lead by Richard III. Not in costume, he's just the third Richard who joined the company as a guide. All of the guides I've had with "London Walks" have a flair for the dramatic- make that melodramatic- and this guy was no different. He'd build whatever story he was telling up to a crescendo and then exit stage left, leaving us to shake our heads and follow. His stories last night were mainly on the themes of murder, ghosts, and prostitution...the most recent ghosts being BBC radio hosts who died in 2000 and still haunt their old desks.
We enjoyed the walk, saw some of the only surviving, still working gas lamps in London, stopped for half pints of Guinness midwalk, I met some cute guys, and we learned the origin of the phrase "a gala affair." Back when Catholicism was outlawed and the king announced himself head of the Church of England, those Catholics who chose to continue in secrecy were sought out and hung (and/or drawn and quartered) as heretics. There were 8 days annually for these "gallow affairs" which drew big crowds and were kind of treated as holidays or a day out or whatever. If you say gallow quickly, you can see how it morphed into "gala." A bit grisly, given our use of the word these days for a celebration, but then again, I suppose that's what it was then as well, given humans' penchant for guts and gore (anyone go to see Hostel?).
My parents and I are off for York, Walworth Castle, and our murder mystery weekend early tomorrow morning, so my apologies but there won't be any more entries until Monday. But I'll have pictures to post again finally! Happy Easter to everyone, I'll be thinking of you all on Sunday, my love to all.
I was in central London yesterday afternoon for an AMPS support meeting (check it out, I've updated my OT blog, about time!) which took place at The National Hospital for Neuroscience and Neurology, or something like that. It was near the tube station of Holborn (pronounced Ho-bun), which was where I had agreed with my parents to meet at 7:15 for a walk entitled "Ghosts, Gaslight, and Guinness."
I walked out of the meeting a little after 5pm, and started to wander around, looking for a place to eat. It took me awhile to realize I had voice messages on my phone, and my parents had actually sat down for tea at Harrods and expected me to join them. For whatever reason, you do feel very posh sitting on the balcony of the Terrace Restaurant at Harrods for tea, and my parents decided to do the whole high tea shebang, with scones, clotted cream, finger sandwiches, and desserts. We did manage to get back to Holborn in time for the walk, which was lead by Richard III. Not in costume, he's just the third Richard who joined the company as a guide. All of the guides I've had with "London Walks" have a flair for the dramatic- make that melodramatic- and this guy was no different. He'd build whatever story he was telling up to a crescendo and then exit stage left, leaving us to shake our heads and follow. His stories last night were mainly on the themes of murder, ghosts, and prostitution...the most recent ghosts being BBC radio hosts who died in 2000 and still haunt their old desks.
We enjoyed the walk, saw some of the only surviving, still working gas lamps in London, stopped for half pints of Guinness midwalk, I met some cute guys, and we learned the origin of the phrase "a gala affair." Back when Catholicism was outlawed and the king announced himself head of the Church of England, those Catholics who chose to continue in secrecy were sought out and hung (and/or drawn and quartered) as heretics. There were 8 days annually for these "gallow affairs" which drew big crowds and were kind of treated as holidays or a day out or whatever. If you say gallow quickly, you can see how it morphed into "gala." A bit grisly, given our use of the word these days for a celebration, but then again, I suppose that's what it was then as well, given humans' penchant for guts and gore (anyone go to see Hostel?).
My parents and I are off for York, Walworth Castle, and our murder mystery weekend early tomorrow morning, so my apologies but there won't be any more entries until Monday. But I'll have pictures to post again finally! Happy Easter to everyone, I'll be thinking of you all on Sunday, my love to all.
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Belgium in London
It was still rather rainy and chilly when I met up with my parents after work, and my mom had been cold all day, so we did not end up doing the walk. We met up with Jo, and the four of us headed to Belgo near Covent Garden, a restaurant both Jo and I had heard other people talk about. It's in the basement, and it's supposed to be a Belgian monastery/brewery kind of atmosphere. The waiters all wear psuedo monk robes. The food was excellent, although none of us went for mussels which they are famous for. They had a ton of Belgian beer available, and I was happy to find they had Duvel, a Belgian beer a friend turned me on to when I was in Oxford. One of the very few beers I actually like. And after the kind of day I'd had, it was just what I needed. I didn't need the dessert, but it was delicious. I do plan to stop over-eating...umm, after Easter and my parents have gone back. Although I'm sure there will be another handy excuse at that point in time. Ah well.
Hey, just had a text from Jo who left us to go see The Crucible...I saw it maybe a week ago, and told her she would love it. She's texted to say it's absolutely gripping. I think the two of us will go see Avenue Q when it gets here, I've wanted to see that ever since it hit Broadway. I'd also entertained thoughts of getting my parents and I tickets to see Hay Fever for Thursday night, with Dame Judi Dench, but they're 62 pounds each.
Hey, just had a text from Jo who left us to go see The Crucible...I saw it maybe a week ago, and told her she would love it. She's texted to say it's absolutely gripping. I think the two of us will go see Avenue Q when it gets here, I've wanted to see that ever since it hit Broadway. I'd also entertained thoughts of getting my parents and I tickets to see Hay Fever for Thursday night, with Dame Judi Dench, but they're 62 pounds each.
Classic
We went to see One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in the West End last night. My parents wanted to see Movin' Out, but offered to get me a ticket for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest since they knew I wanted to see it. I said that was silly since they were here to visit me, and even though I didn't really want to see Movin' Out, told them to get tickets for that (they were at the half price ticket booth in Leicester Square). By the time I'd joined them, they had tickets for One Flew...because the woman at the ticket booth told them the seats for Movin' Out weren't good at all. And we could hardly have gotten better seats for One Flew... since we were smack in the middle of the dress circle, second row, in a small intimate theater. Christian Slater and Alex Kingswood (ER) were starring. And it was really, really good! I was not familiar with the story, even though it's a classic, and my mom, who'd seen the movie and didn't expect to like the play, thought it was excellent. Christian Slater has put on a fair bit of weight, but has managed to retain a six-pack somehow (insert wolf whistle here), and was excellent as an imposter crazy man. It's quite disturbing at the end, and raises issues about mental health treatment (takes place in a mental institution), past and present, but the play was really funny as well. I was very impressed with the cast as an ensemble, and what I tend to call "off-ball movement"...carries over from playing soccer from the time I was 6 until I was 18, where the coaches always wanted you to be moving when you didn't have the ball to create opportunities for you teammate who did have the ball to pass it to you. I kept this term as I moved into doing musicals and plays in high school. Anyway, these actors were all very good at character development while the action was not focused on them.
I'm meeting my parents tonight after work for dinner, and then I think we've planned to do a guided walk, although it's raining at the moment, so we may scrap that bit of the plan. Might end up being for the best, as I have a ton of laundry to be doing at home. Have been very introspective lately, kind of reviewing my place in life at the moment, but not really appropriate for a public blog, sorry ;) Love to all.
I'm meeting my parents tonight after work for dinner, and then I think we've planned to do a guided walk, although it's raining at the moment, so we may scrap that bit of the plan. Might end up being for the best, as I have a ton of laundry to be doing at home. Have been very introspective lately, kind of reviewing my place in life at the moment, but not really appropriate for a public blog, sorry ;) Love to all.
Monday, April 10, 2006
I've been wearing my new scrub pants today, which are not quite an exact match for the official uniform pants color, but close enough I think. Thus far, no one has said anything. Although of course, I guess the real test would be one of our weekly meetings where the Head OT is present, and whether she would notice.
My parents just called to say they were getting on a Thames boat cruise...from what I've heard, it's a pretty nice day out there, even though it started out quite chilly this morning. Not sure I'm going to enjoy my summer here--everyone keeps telling me that it's not necessarily warm all the time, that the weather can in fact be on the cold side. And while summer is sometimes late in arriving in New England, I am used to it being summer once it's summer, meaning warm or even hot!
I've been quite frustrated today (probably since I've had time to be frustrated, I have had patients, but not a whole day's worth of work) in terms of a continual healthcare problem. I really wonder what makes people get into the field sometimes. In the US, I suppose you could point to money, since healthcare is something of a lucrative career choice at the moment. But over here, even though salaries are low since the jobs are government jobs, you get the same problems. Such as the SHO (resident) who had a meeting during normal lunchtime, and then took an extra hour for her lunch afterward, in spite of patients needing to be seen. It's just the nature of the beast in healthcare that sometimes you stay late to write notes, or you miss lunch, or you only get 15 minutes for lunch because we're in the service of our fellow human beings. And when you get people who don't care about patients as individuals, and aren't cognizant of being respectful, and aware of maintaining people's dignity, and addressing all the problems that need attention...you really wonder why people didn't choose a different career path. Healthcare jobs are not thankless jobs in general, but some days it can feel like that, and you have to remember that you're dealing with people who are unwell and under a lot of stress, and on days where you yourself are under the weather, patience is more than a virtue, it's a lifeline. I've seen even good, caring, committed therapists lose it on days where they're stretched too thin. So it's hard to ignore the casual indifference of healthcare professionals who aren't doing their best for people who have come to them for help and have every right to expect the best treatment for their problems.
My parents just called to say they were getting on a Thames boat cruise...from what I've heard, it's a pretty nice day out there, even though it started out quite chilly this morning. Not sure I'm going to enjoy my summer here--everyone keeps telling me that it's not necessarily warm all the time, that the weather can in fact be on the cold side. And while summer is sometimes late in arriving in New England, I am used to it being summer once it's summer, meaning warm or even hot!
I've been quite frustrated today (probably since I've had time to be frustrated, I have had patients, but not a whole day's worth of work) in terms of a continual healthcare problem. I really wonder what makes people get into the field sometimes. In the US, I suppose you could point to money, since healthcare is something of a lucrative career choice at the moment. But over here, even though salaries are low since the jobs are government jobs, you get the same problems. Such as the SHO (resident) who had a meeting during normal lunchtime, and then took an extra hour for her lunch afterward, in spite of patients needing to be seen. It's just the nature of the beast in healthcare that sometimes you stay late to write notes, or you miss lunch, or you only get 15 minutes for lunch because we're in the service of our fellow human beings. And when you get people who don't care about patients as individuals, and aren't cognizant of being respectful, and aware of maintaining people's dignity, and addressing all the problems that need attention...you really wonder why people didn't choose a different career path. Healthcare jobs are not thankless jobs in general, but some days it can feel like that, and you have to remember that you're dealing with people who are unwell and under a lot of stress, and on days where you yourself are under the weather, patience is more than a virtue, it's a lifeline. I've seen even good, caring, committed therapists lose it on days where they're stretched too thin. So it's hard to ignore the casual indifference of healthcare professionals who aren't doing their best for people who have come to them for help and have every right to expect the best treatment for their problems.
Sunday, April 09, 2006
Early Easter and new words
My parents arrived early this morning, and I discovered in the process of going to meet them that the underground doesn't open on Sundays until 7am. We wrestled all the suitcases (in fairness, half of what they brought what mine) onto the underground, and arrived at Oxford Hotel to discover it was the wrong hotel. We actually wanted The Oxford Hotel (note the addition of "The") which is near Lancaster Gate in Hyde's Park, but it was close so we took a taxi instead of getting back on the tube. It's a tiny little room with a shower you can't turn around in (for those of you who have travelled in Europe, it's evident that we Americans are obsessed with space, our hotel rooms being just one example)...however it will suit their purposes just fine for the next few days.
We left after they'd checked in, and went to have a look at Petticoat Lane Market, which to be honest wasn't all that exciting. As my mom pointed out, there wasn't much variety, mainly clothing and shoes. Although there was one stall which had purses laid out with shoes that exactly matched each purse, which I thought was funny. We had Indian food on Brick Lane for linner, or maybe dunch if you prefer, and then walked through Spitalfields Market on our way back to the hotel. Spitalfields Market looked a lot better in my opinion, though we only really walked through it. However, Camden Lock Market is still the best I think, and as soon as the weather warms up just a tad more, I plan to go back. Well that, and I'm waiting for pay day in about a week and a half, since I'm giving my parents a bunch of money from my account this week to take back and put into my American account for student loans.
Next stop was my house, both so my parents could get rid of all the stuff they'd brought for me, and because I was in need of my father's services to figure out how to assemble a cheap desk. The desk is now finished, and going through all the stuff they'd brought was like Christmas! Er, I guess I should say, like Easter! I now have two pairs of scrub pants the same color as my uniform pants, so I plan to start wearing them instead. I have lots of cosmetic supplies, and lots of food supplies that I can't find here. And I will admit, I may have gone over board on the clothing I've brought over, now that my parents have brought the last of it...they wanted to know how on earth I'm going to get everything back! Ooh, and they brought me egg crates for my bed! It's heaven on earth.
Some new words for this week...you know how Britney Spears is always being described in magazines these days as acting/looking "trailer trash"? Evidently, they use the word "chav" here to mean the same thing. And then there's "lash"...all I can say there is that it has something to do with drinking, because it can be used in so many ways, one example being someone going out the bars might say, "I'm gonna lash it up tonight!" I think you can also be "on the lash".
I think I'm going to get ready for bed, mmm, my newly comfy cozy bed, and will turn on the new Harry Potter dvd (thanks Mom & Dad), and crash. I was up until almost 5am on Saturday playing Texas Hold 'Em, and out again for a couple of hours last night dancing, and I am wrecked. I could sleep for 12 hours I think.
We left after they'd checked in, and went to have a look at Petticoat Lane Market, which to be honest wasn't all that exciting. As my mom pointed out, there wasn't much variety, mainly clothing and shoes. Although there was one stall which had purses laid out with shoes that exactly matched each purse, which I thought was funny. We had Indian food on Brick Lane for linner, or maybe dunch if you prefer, and then walked through Spitalfields Market on our way back to the hotel. Spitalfields Market looked a lot better in my opinion, though we only really walked through it. However, Camden Lock Market is still the best I think, and as soon as the weather warms up just a tad more, I plan to go back. Well that, and I'm waiting for pay day in about a week and a half, since I'm giving my parents a bunch of money from my account this week to take back and put into my American account for student loans.
Next stop was my house, both so my parents could get rid of all the stuff they'd brought for me, and because I was in need of my father's services to figure out how to assemble a cheap desk. The desk is now finished, and going through all the stuff they'd brought was like Christmas! Er, I guess I should say, like Easter! I now have two pairs of scrub pants the same color as my uniform pants, so I plan to start wearing them instead. I have lots of cosmetic supplies, and lots of food supplies that I can't find here. And I will admit, I may have gone over board on the clothing I've brought over, now that my parents have brought the last of it...they wanted to know how on earth I'm going to get everything back! Ooh, and they brought me egg crates for my bed! It's heaven on earth.
Some new words for this week...you know how Britney Spears is always being described in magazines these days as acting/looking "trailer trash"? Evidently, they use the word "chav" here to mean the same thing. And then there's "lash"...all I can say there is that it has something to do with drinking, because it can be used in so many ways, one example being someone going out the bars might say, "I'm gonna lash it up tonight!" I think you can also be "on the lash".
I think I'm going to get ready for bed, mmm, my newly comfy cozy bed, and will turn on the new Harry Potter dvd (thanks Mom & Dad), and crash. I was up until almost 5am on Saturday playing Texas Hold 'Em, and out again for a couple of hours last night dancing, and I am wrecked. I could sleep for 12 hours I think.
Friday, April 07, 2006
No news really
So it's not even 3pm yet, and I'm bored out of my mind. My supervisor (who has been in this week, it turns out it's these next two weeks she's on holiday) told me I could take off a bit early, as I'll be sure to make it up while she's off, so I think I will leave in just a bit. There has been no one for OT to see today because the one person on the attendance list I was asked to see did not attend...her husband had forgotten about the appointment. Or actually, as he said to the nurse on the phone, but her appointment's not till Friday, and the nurse said, yes, and it is Friday.
I'm home alone tonight, or I will be if I stay home. My roommies are out with their respective men, and my big night this weekend is planned for tomorrow. So I'm thinking I'll go home now, have a nice hot bath, and if nothing else, I'll take myself to the movies;) Ice Age 2, which I'm sure some of you have already seen, since it was out in the US end of March, is officially opening today, and I'd really like to see it at some point. So if I don't come up with anything else for tonight, I might do that. Well, gym first, then movie.
And then I might do some surfing around on the internet for ideas for my first long weekend with a Monday off due to a bank holiday. It's coming up last weekend of April, with May 1st being the Monday I have off. My roommate Nicole and I had talked about Budapest, but she now is feeling a bit broke, since she's in Vegas for her sister's bachelorette party (or hen party as they call it here) also in May. I really really don't want to "waste" that weekend, but am a bit short on ideas and travel partners, so I need to do some research on flights and destinations. And if I can't find anyone to travel with, I think I'll pick somewhere within the UK.
I'm home alone tonight, or I will be if I stay home. My roommies are out with their respective men, and my big night this weekend is planned for tomorrow. So I'm thinking I'll go home now, have a nice hot bath, and if nothing else, I'll take myself to the movies;) Ice Age 2, which I'm sure some of you have already seen, since it was out in the US end of March, is officially opening today, and I'd really like to see it at some point. So if I don't come up with anything else for tonight, I might do that. Well, gym first, then movie.
And then I might do some surfing around on the internet for ideas for my first long weekend with a Monday off due to a bank holiday. It's coming up last weekend of April, with May 1st being the Monday I have off. My roommate Nicole and I had talked about Budapest, but she now is feeling a bit broke, since she's in Vegas for her sister's bachelorette party (or hen party as they call it here) also in May. I really really don't want to "waste" that weekend, but am a bit short on ideas and travel partners, so I need to do some research on flights and destinations. And if I can't find anyone to travel with, I think I'll pick somewhere within the UK.
Thursday, April 06, 2006
History in the Making
or history rediscovered...or something. Check it out, really incredible stuff, for all you evolutionists!
Fossil Called Missing Link From Sea to Land Animals
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/06/science/06fossil.html?th&emc=th
Fossil Called Missing Link From Sea to Land Animals
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/06/science/06fossil.html?th&emc=th
Woohoo Thursdays
Thursdays might as well be the start of the weekend, don't you think? You've only got Friday left to get through, you're happy it's Friday, and depending upon your job, it breezes by, and you might even be having fun. I do wish I was still having exercise group a la Roosevelt Hospital, just for the excuse to dance ;) and watch the residents try to play beach ball volleyball in wheelchairs!
Thursdays are pretty exciting now, with House MD at 9pm and Grey's Anatomy at 10! Of course, I have seen all the episodes thus far...House just started here recently, and tonight is the very first episode of Grey's Anatomy being aired over here. So I won't see any new episodes for oh, say maybe a year? I definitely won't stay home if there are better plans afloat to get out on the town, but most nights, given that we only have 5 channels via antenna, there really isn't anything to watch.
Had an interesting experience in my falls education group today. I've taken over Thursday group from my supervisor, and didn't know a lot about individual personalities. I have four ladies, all of whom have their own idiosyncratic mannerisms in seeking and maintaining attention. One of them, we'll call her Violet, just talks and talks and talks, and talks over others, in her eagerness to share her knowledge and stories. Additionally, she can be quite high pitched when excited. Well, today, she was sitting next to a lady (Ivy) who obviously didn't appreciate her constant contributions to the discussion, and I'm sorry to say she became more and more rude. I thought maybe I was mistaken the first two times I heard Ivy suck her teeth in a drawn out tsking sound when Violet began to talk. But it became more and more obvious as Ivy escalated her behavior and began to make comments under her breath, then try to talk over Violet, then try to start a different conversation with me to drag my attention away from what Violet was contributing to the group. Unfortunately, although I think she was unaware at first, I've no doubt Violet was well aware of Ivy's intentions by the end of our group. I will have to make some changes for next week. First of all, these two women will not sit next to each other. And secondly, rather than having a discussion as I prefer, I'll have to make it more of a talk from me, with sort of guided questioning to each member in turn as directed by me to contribute to the topic. Shame really. My Wednesday group is a lovely discussion format.
Additionally, I'm wondering whether I had a little encounter with racism in group today. At the end of the group, one of the members asked where I was from, and somehow or other we moved from there to the fact that I'm living in Leytonstone. "You're living where, dear?" Shocked silence where there had been at least three of the four group members talking, and the facial expressions were priceless. Leytonstone has become a very ethnic area of East London, and for as much as London is an amazing melting pot, you do find that people seem to resent what are increasingly multi national neighborhoods, and will make comments about ethnicities. And I found myself defending my choice of where to live, such as stating that the rent is pretty reasonable. "I'm sure it is, dear." I was taken aback, but they had all started to move out the door, so that was the end of that.
I forgot to mention yesterday, I had a followup visit with a lovely lady who is moving to Cornwall with her son and daughter-in-law, with her son as her main carer now that he's retired. So it was my second and last visit with her, and I wanted to make sure they were practicing safe transfers, that they were managing well together, and to show them the adaptive equipment they should expect to be able to get through OT in Cornwall. On her initial visit, the PT had wanted her to start using a rollator frame (I'm still calling it a rolling walker out of habit, for as much as that confuses people), but she flat out refused because she didn't want people to see her with it, so after much cajoling on the PT's part, this woman went home with a walking stick (yes, I'm still calling that one a cane). This time around, I found out she'd had a fall, so I had a chat with her, and asked her if I could present a different perspective on the frame. I asked her if she would consider using the frame inside at least, as a way of enabling her to everything she wants to do without being limited to where there is furniture she can lean on. She's also experiencing back pain so I talked about the frame promoting good posture. And I had an inspiration in terms of her personality, and told her to think of the frame as a friend who's always with her, supporting her, and she could even give it a name if she wanted to, like Charlie. She agreed, and I raced off to find the PT to get her a frame. We laughed about Charlie the rest of the afternoon, everytime she passed by with the frame, and while I know it will take her some time, and she won't use it outdoors, I think she'll come to realize the frame is a good thing.
And finally, I made homemade lasagna tonight...I had a great time making it, really sort of got into my own little cooking world. Unfortunately, I am used to making my homemade marinara sauce with crushed tomatoes, which I can't find here. So I used chopped tomatoes, and the sauce ended up very runny. Delicious, but very runny. I'm going to need to adapt my recipe somehow. I'm coming up a bit short on ideas, though aside from adding flour which I would rather not do for a red sauce. Any thoughts?
Thursdays are pretty exciting now, with House MD at 9pm and Grey's Anatomy at 10! Of course, I have seen all the episodes thus far...House just started here recently, and tonight is the very first episode of Grey's Anatomy being aired over here. So I won't see any new episodes for oh, say maybe a year? I definitely won't stay home if there are better plans afloat to get out on the town, but most nights, given that we only have 5 channels via antenna, there really isn't anything to watch.
Had an interesting experience in my falls education group today. I've taken over Thursday group from my supervisor, and didn't know a lot about individual personalities. I have four ladies, all of whom have their own idiosyncratic mannerisms in seeking and maintaining attention. One of them, we'll call her Violet, just talks and talks and talks, and talks over others, in her eagerness to share her knowledge and stories. Additionally, she can be quite high pitched when excited. Well, today, she was sitting next to a lady (Ivy) who obviously didn't appreciate her constant contributions to the discussion, and I'm sorry to say she became more and more rude. I thought maybe I was mistaken the first two times I heard Ivy suck her teeth in a drawn out tsking sound when Violet began to talk. But it became more and more obvious as Ivy escalated her behavior and began to make comments under her breath, then try to talk over Violet, then try to start a different conversation with me to drag my attention away from what Violet was contributing to the group. Unfortunately, although I think she was unaware at first, I've no doubt Violet was well aware of Ivy's intentions by the end of our group. I will have to make some changes for next week. First of all, these two women will not sit next to each other. And secondly, rather than having a discussion as I prefer, I'll have to make it more of a talk from me, with sort of guided questioning to each member in turn as directed by me to contribute to the topic. Shame really. My Wednesday group is a lovely discussion format.
Additionally, I'm wondering whether I had a little encounter with racism in group today. At the end of the group, one of the members asked where I was from, and somehow or other we moved from there to the fact that I'm living in Leytonstone. "You're living where, dear?" Shocked silence where there had been at least three of the four group members talking, and the facial expressions were priceless. Leytonstone has become a very ethnic area of East London, and for as much as London is an amazing melting pot, you do find that people seem to resent what are increasingly multi national neighborhoods, and will make comments about ethnicities. And I found myself defending my choice of where to live, such as stating that the rent is pretty reasonable. "I'm sure it is, dear." I was taken aback, but they had all started to move out the door, so that was the end of that.
I forgot to mention yesterday, I had a followup visit with a lovely lady who is moving to Cornwall with her son and daughter-in-law, with her son as her main carer now that he's retired. So it was my second and last visit with her, and I wanted to make sure they were practicing safe transfers, that they were managing well together, and to show them the adaptive equipment they should expect to be able to get through OT in Cornwall. On her initial visit, the PT had wanted her to start using a rollator frame (I'm still calling it a rolling walker out of habit, for as much as that confuses people), but she flat out refused because she didn't want people to see her with it, so after much cajoling on the PT's part, this woman went home with a walking stick (yes, I'm still calling that one a cane). This time around, I found out she'd had a fall, so I had a chat with her, and asked her if I could present a different perspective on the frame. I asked her if she would consider using the frame inside at least, as a way of enabling her to everything she wants to do without being limited to where there is furniture she can lean on. She's also experiencing back pain so I talked about the frame promoting good posture. And I had an inspiration in terms of her personality, and told her to think of the frame as a friend who's always with her, supporting her, and she could even give it a name if she wanted to, like Charlie. She agreed, and I raced off to find the PT to get her a frame. We laughed about Charlie the rest of the afternoon, everytime she passed by with the frame, and while I know it will take her some time, and she won't use it outdoors, I think she'll come to realize the frame is a good thing.
And finally, I made homemade lasagna tonight...I had a great time making it, really sort of got into my own little cooking world. Unfortunately, I am used to making my homemade marinara sauce with crushed tomatoes, which I can't find here. So I used chopped tomatoes, and the sauce ended up very runny. Delicious, but very runny. I'm going to need to adapt my recipe somehow. I'm coming up a bit short on ideas, though aside from adding flour which I would rather not do for a red sauce. Any thoughts?
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Accents
Went on a home visit today for a patient who as it turns out lives very very close to me (I didn't mention that to her). And toward the end of the visit as I was trying to get myself and the OTA out the door for a meeting at the hospital we were very later for, my patient started talking about how much she liked to listen to me talk. That she loves my accent, and it's so gentle, and so on. Which her niece from Trinidad and my OTA immediately agreed upon and all three proceeded to have a discussion of my accent. It was rather embarrassing first of all, but also I've always wondered how I must sound to others. I've always thought of myself as having no accent, especially since everyone in the music and movie industries no matter what country they are from seem to have the same. I have had this conversation with others, who also think there is such a thing as no accent, and I'm pretty close to it. However, since I've been here, I have been conscious of my accent, for one because I'm prone to picking up accents and am afraid of offending someone (if they thought I was making fun of them) if I start to adapt my pronunciations to British pronunciations, and for two because I keep thinking words that I say must sound so harsh. I don't know why, I just have this impression that my accent is harsh to UK ears. So it was very funny especially to hear my OTA say that she loves to hear me talk, it's such a wonderful accent, so soft.
And for today's vent: this poor woman I visited today has ongoing chronic back pain problems, and we went to her house only to find she sleeps on one of the motorized so-called "orthopedic" beds. Not only is the mattress far too soft, but she sleeps in a V position, having raised the foot and head of the bed. And beyond that, because her feet are swollen, she elevates them even further with three pillows! And even though her niece has told her using this bed in this position is bound to make her back worse, my patient insisted that it was right because the people who had sold her the bed a few years ago told her so!! "Back pain? This is the bed for you!" Bloody salespeople. She may have actually listened today though when two professionals told her it wasn't the right bed for her, and her niece thanked us profusely as we left.
And for today's vent: this poor woman I visited today has ongoing chronic back pain problems, and we went to her house only to find she sleeps on one of the motorized so-called "orthopedic" beds. Not only is the mattress far too soft, but she sleeps in a V position, having raised the foot and head of the bed. And beyond that, because her feet are swollen, she elevates them even further with three pillows! And even though her niece has told her using this bed in this position is bound to make her back worse, my patient insisted that it was right because the people who had sold her the bed a few years ago told her so!! "Back pain? This is the bed for you!" Bloody salespeople. She may have actually listened today though when two professionals told her it wasn't the right bed for her, and her niece thanked us profusely as we left.
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
More Britishisms
Whinge = to whine. I hear this one a fair bit around work, people are pretty self-observant when they go off on a rant, and will say something like "I know I'm whinging, but..." I haven't yet been sassy enough to ask "Would you like some cheese with your whine?"
A totty is a sexy girl, while a handsome guy might be called dishy.
Gobsmacked...one of my personal favorites...means absolutely amazed, stunned. I think I just love the sound of it.
A totty is a sexy girl, while a handsome guy might be called dishy.
Gobsmacked...one of my personal favorites...means absolutely amazed, stunned. I think I just love the sound of it.
Small stuff, big stuff
I am ridiculously excited about my delivery this afternoon from Tesco. It's been rather annoying being limited to what I can carry in my backpack, when I go grocery shopping on my walk home from the hospital. Basically it means I have to stop in at the store almost every other day. I wish I weren't always cooking for one, which can be a bit frustrating, but my roommates and I eat at different times and/or generally don't eat the same things. However, I do love to cook, and find it's a good way to shake off any stress from the day. So I thought of several different meals I'd like to cook, and what staples I should have in my cupboard, plus with the imminent arrival of chocolate chips with my parents, I was thinking homemade chocolate chip cookies and even possibly peanut butter chocolate chip brownies from scratch, yum!- I put a list together and placed an internet order at Tesco. It's the small things in life that are the biggest happiness sometimes I think!
I am also looking forward to the arrival of my USB modem. There's been some drama at the house regarding sharing use of the internet, and I decided I'd rather just buy a second modem, eliminating the need to share the modem back and forth. Evenings are especially popular times for internet, for me personally because I can't make my broadband phonecalls to the US until 10pm or later here, due to the time difference. I sent out an email recently with a local phone number just for me (through Skype), and as of tonight, I should be available at that number every night - assuming I'm home of course!
And finally, my parents are arriving on Sunday! Should be good fun for them being back in England for the first time since they moved back to the US in 2000, and we are all looking forward to our weekend up near York for Easter weekend, which amazingly is only a week and a half away. It's a crying shame Tressa's spring break didn't match up. However, Jo will stand in for her at least one night next week, as she stayed at my parent's house for a weekend on a trip to the US a little over a year ago, and is eager to see them again.
I am also looking forward to the arrival of my USB modem. There's been some drama at the house regarding sharing use of the internet, and I decided I'd rather just buy a second modem, eliminating the need to share the modem back and forth. Evenings are especially popular times for internet, for me personally because I can't make my broadband phonecalls to the US until 10pm or later here, due to the time difference. I sent out an email recently with a local phone number just for me (through Skype), and as of tonight, I should be available at that number every night - assuming I'm home of course!
And finally, my parents are arriving on Sunday! Should be good fun for them being back in England for the first time since they moved back to the US in 2000, and we are all looking forward to our weekend up near York for Easter weekend, which amazingly is only a week and a half away. It's a crying shame Tressa's spring break didn't match up. However, Jo will stand in for her at least one night next week, as she stayed at my parent's house for a weekend on a trip to the US a little over a year ago, and is eager to see them again.
Repetitive Stress Syndrome
Alright people...specifically Viv, Kristy and Midge, because I know you all read this...I need some professional help here. I have a family member- female adult- who's been diagnosed with Repetitive Stress Syndrome of one or both upper extremities (not sure). I've never worked with patients with this diagnosis myself, so I'm a bit rusty, and plan to go home tonight and have a look at my trusty Trombly phys dys textbook. Does anyone have clinical experience with this? If so, any recommendations for PAMs, NSAIDs, splinting?, exercises? Would greatly appreciate any help from you, or anyone you might work with who could make some recommendations. Many thanks!
Monday, April 03, 2006
Strike one...
for yoga at my new gym that is. I'm fairly sore today, since I've thrown myself back into a gym routine, without making much concession for the fact that I haven't done much besides walk for a little over a month now, since I left NJ. Yesterday I decided to give the yoga class at my gym a try since it was listed as an hour and a half time block, which I thought was a good sign. Well, I don't know if it was a different kind of yoga than I'm used to or rather the teacher's choice of disjointed moves put together for a class (I'm thinking it's the latter), but it was very disappointing. I will definitely need to do some looking around for a proper Astanga/flow yoga class or studio. I'll try some of the other classes at the gym, but definitely no more yoga there!
I came home for a bit and watched the annual Oxford v Cambridge boat race on the Thames...Oxford beat Cambridge pretty handily, and I'm not sure it's any coincidence there were two Americans on the Oxford crew, and none on the Cambridge crew ;)
I went round Jo's in the evening because she had invited me for a Sunday roast. It was the first one she'd ever cooked, and I must say it turned out pretty well! She lives in Muswell Hill, which is a very posh area, and I must say I really liked what I saw (I had a 10 minute walk from the tube station to her place). Evidently stars live in the area, such as Hugh Grant. Jo lives in hospital accommodation, and the hospital is very old, but it's set in absolutely gorgeous grounds, and Jo has made her room pretty cozy. There was a lovely wooded area with lots of walking paths, and Jo told me there's a big playing field in the middle, restaurant/cafe, etc.
I'm on my own for the better part of the next two weeks at the day hospital, because my supervisor is a term time OT and so has the next two weeks off (schools are out for Easter holidays). Also the OTA is only in 2 days this week and 2 days next as she's taken some time off to be with her kids. I should actually have work to do!
I came home for a bit and watched the annual Oxford v Cambridge boat race on the Thames...Oxford beat Cambridge pretty handily, and I'm not sure it's any coincidence there were two Americans on the Oxford crew, and none on the Cambridge crew ;)
I went round Jo's in the evening because she had invited me for a Sunday roast. It was the first one she'd ever cooked, and I must say it turned out pretty well! She lives in Muswell Hill, which is a very posh area, and I must say I really liked what I saw (I had a 10 minute walk from the tube station to her place). Evidently stars live in the area, such as Hugh Grant. Jo lives in hospital accommodation, and the hospital is very old, but it's set in absolutely gorgeous grounds, and Jo has made her room pretty cozy. There was a lovely wooded area with lots of walking paths, and Jo told me there's a big playing field in the middle, restaurant/cafe, etc.
I'm on my own for the better part of the next two weeks at the day hospital, because my supervisor is a term time OT and so has the next two weeks off (schools are out for Easter holidays). Also the OTA is only in 2 days this week and 2 days next as she's taken some time off to be with her kids. I should actually have work to do!
Saturday, April 01, 2006
Why are there so many songs about rainbows?
And what's on the other side? Rainbows are visions, but only illusions, and rainbows have nothing to hide...
I saw an absolutely gorgeous rainbow, arching from the heavens earthward, on the bus back from Stratford shopping center. It's been a sunny, beautiful spring day, but it did rain some in the late afternoon. It left me wishing I could wrap myself up in it, or slide down it, or something. Moments of beauty are sometimes so fleeting and so far. It's hard not to wish those moments would last forever, but then I suppose we wouldn't appreciate them nearly so much as we do.
I had to laugh at myself this morning- I was at the gym, on the treadmill, completely enraptured by a cooking show :) The time flew by, and I know now how to make another very simple, yet delicious Italian meal.
I've had a long conversation with my parents, who are arriving to visit with me a week from tomorrow. They are bringing all kinds of things for me, bless. They'll spend three days in central London, two days closer to me, and we're all headed to Walworth Castle for Easter Weekend, where we will participate in a murder mystery weekend. Oh, and they told me we're all booked for Hawaii, yay!! So in July, I will go home to spend a week at Wissahickon (lakehouse in Vermont, I'm so happy, I thought I'd miss it this year) and a week in Hawaii. It's going to be absolute heaven!
I saw an absolutely gorgeous rainbow, arching from the heavens earthward, on the bus back from Stratford shopping center. It's been a sunny, beautiful spring day, but it did rain some in the late afternoon. It left me wishing I could wrap myself up in it, or slide down it, or something. Moments of beauty are sometimes so fleeting and so far. It's hard not to wish those moments would last forever, but then I suppose we wouldn't appreciate them nearly so much as we do.
I had to laugh at myself this morning- I was at the gym, on the treadmill, completely enraptured by a cooking show :) The time flew by, and I know now how to make another very simple, yet delicious Italian meal.
I've had a long conversation with my parents, who are arriving to visit with me a week from tomorrow. They are bringing all kinds of things for me, bless. They'll spend three days in central London, two days closer to me, and we're all headed to Walworth Castle for Easter Weekend, where we will participate in a murder mystery weekend. Oh, and they told me we're all booked for Hawaii, yay!! So in July, I will go home to spend a week at Wissahickon (lakehouse in Vermont, I'm so happy, I thought I'd miss it this year) and a week in Hawaii. It's going to be absolute heaven!
Gerry girl
Today is my cat Gerry's birthday. Or at least, what I decided her birthday would be, given what her estimated age was when I adopted her from the shelter as a kitten. She is 7 years old, which I guess is middle age in cat years. Awww, my baby's all grown up. How I wish she could be with me, but given how traumatized she is by a 10 minute drive to the vets (lets just say there is always one or more messes to clean up), there's no way she could cross the ocean on a plane! I do miss her terribly, but luckily she's not prone to holding grudges as my Jackie was, so I know Gerry will be happy to see me next time I'm home :) There's a thumbnail picture of her at the bottom of my Flickr filmstrip on the right sidebar of this blog. Cutie! And just so you all know and we're all clear on the matter, black cats are good luck.
Happy first day of April to everyone-- if anyone has pulled off an April Fools joke, let me know, I don't think I've done that in years. Fill me in so I can live vicariously! I'm off to the gym for now.
Happy first day of April to everyone-- if anyone has pulled off an April Fools joke, let me know, I don't think I've done that in years. Fill me in so I can live vicariously! I'm off to the gym for now.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
