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.

"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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

Some new friends at "The Church"...Nicole's boyfriend Dave on the far left, Nicole center front, Val next to me, then Andy and Kelly. The last three are all from New Zealand - kiwis! 

Nicole and I at "The Church", second round in the plastic bags tied at our waist ;) 

Parliament and Big Ben from the boat 

Nicole and I on the booze cruise with Tower Bridge behind us. 

St Pattys Day, at a bar called On and On 

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.

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!

"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!

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...

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.

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.

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

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.)

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.

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.

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

Pancakes and "Lonely in London?!"

So it's Shrove Tuesday, which I remember from last time I was living in the UK as Pancake Tuesday. Also known as Mardi Gras, and believe me, if I were in the US at the moment, I'd be supporting the city and people of New Orleans, lord knows they need it right now! I've never been before, but I would have gone this year...

I'm getting to know the post at the Day Hospital now, albeit very, very slowly. I didn't see any patients today, although I did write up the notes from the one I saw yesterday. I had somewhat of an orientation from my supervisor, although I did caution her that I may be moving onto another rotation come April 1. That decision is supposed to be made by end of this week I think, and I'm pretty torn about it. I'm half tempted to choose to rotate to Ainslee because it's rehab and I know rehab, and it sounds like the pace might be a bit quicker. I did mention something to Nicole about the Day Hospital not seeming to be quite my speed, and her response was, nothing in the NHS will be your speed. However, I do think I'd learn quite a bit about the various Boroughs, Councils, dealing with social workers, ordering equipment, and other things I don't know (being an American) by staying at the Day Hospital. In addition, while I did a lot of ADLs, and a lot of focus on rehabilitation in NJ, here I could learn more about compensation and adaptation-- ways to change the environment rather than the individual. So I suppose I'm leaning toward the Day Hospital just for the experience...I can always go back to rehab later. Oh, and James, I had a comment from an older woman today about how much she loved my accent- I'm beginning to understand what you were saying about liking being an Englishman in Canada and all the attention because of your accent!

I had an interesting chat with one of the OT assistants on the way to a mandatory OT Forum discussion this afternoon. She was trying to learn as much about me as she could in the space of a 5-minute car ride, and complimented me on my courage for picking up and moving to London. And then she said, in particular because London is a very lonely city. She described people as very reserved, and just said in general, it's hard to meet people, especially coming over from another country. And my thoughts were that yes, well I'd expected that, and that can be true anywhere. All throughout our schooling, we have a built-in social network, really, and once school is done, it can be a really hard adjustment. Sometimes we are lucky in our jobs, I know I definitely was in Roosevelt- I was having such a blast with my coworkers it was sad to leave! And I thank my lucky stars for those true friends I've gathered and kept from various stages of my life, given that such a lasting connection is rare, and we generally eventually move to different geographical areas and have to work to maintain that connection as we each move on with separate lives. So I think that, in general (at least for those of us who are single!) we are often in situations where our friends are elsewhere, and we're just trying to find contentment through our work and daily lives and must find our own ways to make our peace with being alone (and I do find a difference now between being lonely and being alone). I've also been very lucky in that I already knew a few people here from living in Oxford, and I'm living with another American OT who's very friendly...otherwise I might be struggling a lot more than I am these first few weeks of adjustment to living in London. The first week really went by in a flash, I must say. On the other hand, as the woman who was driving me to the discussion mentioned, people who have lived abroad gain so much in life experience, and she was wishing that her kids might try it themselves, and not be "staid" as she described herself. And I agree, it really does change/mold you as a person in a way it's hard to describe to someone who's not tried it themselves. Anyway, I do miss my close friends back home in the US terribly, but I am enjoying myself here, and I've grown up a bit the past few years in that I no longer have the illusion I'll make good friends wherever I go...I'm sure I'll make a lot of acquaintances, and will have to wait to see what happens from there. And it would have been the same whatever move I might have made in the US as well...starting a new life in a new area on my own. Even living near one of my best friends in NJ, she had her life and I had mine, and we made an effort to see each other regularly, but didn't always quite achieve once a week. It's just a different sort of life once you're out of school. And no, all of this did not come out in the car, it was far too short of a drive, but it's basically what ran through my head! ;)

I suppose I should head back to the house, I want to pick up some fruit on the way, and then I'm due home to make pancakes! There is actually a reason for this being Pancake Tuesday/Fat Tuesday, by the way, I looked it up-- it had to do with wanting to use up everything that would spoil during the period of Lent, such as fats, and pancakes apparently are a good way to use up a lot of things that would spoil. They still have Pancake Races here, I won't go into that but you can look it up on the web, and I think I saw there's a particular town in England that competes with a particular town in the US in pancake races.

For those of you asking about what trips I'm planning, not much so far aside from Italy in May (I may go by myself but have been asking to see if others are interested as well), and somewhere with Viv end of next week within England...perhaps Cambridge, I haven't heard back from her yet on where she'd like to go and I have three days I can take off. In general, we should have broadband internet in the house by March 10 or so, and I'll be better about emails and blog entries at that point. And Kristy, we should talk about timing for Australia, Capetown, whatever we're going to do! Right, pancakes are waiting...

The Night Bus and my first weekend out

This entry may be a bit all over the place, but I'll do my best to organize it...started work on Wednesday, but my supervisor was out sick from Wednesday through Friday, so all I was able to do was shadow other OTs. It was a bit frustrating given that I'm not a student or even a brand new OT, and I'm looking forward to having my own caseload. I am currently assigned to the Day Hospital, which is for people who aren't acutely medically unstable and thus do not meet the requirements for a hospital bed. However, functionally they have a lot of problems, and they arrive at the day hospital by ambulance for therapy to help remediate or compensate for their functional deficits. I believe this service falls under care of the elderly, but I'll let you all know later on when I've actually started working there. I did tag along on some bordering-on-horrifying home visits (see entry below), but then again, I've never worked in a big American city either, and I suspect I would have had some eye-opening experiences in New York City, for example.

I'm in somewhat of an unsual circumstance, because I came into Whipps Cross right before they make a change of rotation which happens every 6 months. I've been placed in the day hospital, but my manager told me since I already have almost a year's worth of experience under my belt, she'd give me an option she's never before given a basic grade OT. Essentially, I could choose to change with everyone else on April 1, rather than just have an extra long rotation at the day hospital. The caveat being I have to make my decision within the next week or so. I'm hoping I'll have enough information next week when my supervisor returns to make that decision, although I must say I'm tempted to stay at the day hospital. My only other choice for a rotation is what they call intermediate services, which is essentially rehab. And although I like rehab and I'm familiar and comfortable with it since that's what I was doing in NJ, one of the attractions of working in the UK at a basic grade rotational position is to get experience in different settings. I'm hoping that when it comes time for my second rotation I'll have a shot at the stroke unit, which I'm quite interested in.

I am settling in at my new house, although it will take a while, I think. For one thing, there's my mattress- it's very low to the ground (and a lot of you know I always raise my bed up, who knows why), and it feels very hard, so I haven't been sleeping well. My parents called yesterday afternoon, and my mom told me to go out shopping for a cheap mattress. Only trouble is, I've already had to pay a lot of money for my security deposit, half of Feb rent, and all of March rent. I don't get paid here until March 29 since they only pay salaried employees once a month, and my friend Viv will be here from March 8-20, and I'd really like to show her a good time. So I have to live off my American money until end of March, which I hadn't counted on. Oops. Anyway, I'm mostly unpacked now, but having come from the relative luxury of my parents' house, my new room isn't nearly as comfy cozy. Hmm, perhaps I should have stayed in the US and bought property. Ok, I know that's the homesickness talking, but still, sometimes I do wonder if I'm starting to "feel my age". Funny how you can consider yourself so grown up and wise, and even a year later look back and laugh at yourself for how much you've learned and changed.

I did go out with my friend Jo and several of her friends from work on Friday night in Angel. We first went to a Cuban bar where they actually had mojitos (though not nearly as good as Clydz, Jenn), and then we went next door to another bar where they had a DJ and were open until 4 am. I had been thinking I'd probably head out by 12:15 or so since I was knackered as they say here (tired), and wanted to catch the tube which shuts down around 12:30...but I was having such a good time I decided to give the night bus a try. So we danced and danced, and I marveled at one of Jo's friends who kept getting pulled away by some fairly bold guys, and I was thankful it wasn't me;) We did leave before closing time and had all the men in the place trying to call us back...but by 2ish I was really tired and we headed out. So the night bus...which no, mom, isn't anything like Harry Potter. In hindsight, it was probably stupid of me to take the night bus on my own, having never done so before, but they're well lit with lots of people on them. Only trouble being, you have to know exactly where your stop is, since they don't make annoucements. I did okay on the first bus, since I finally asked the driver where to get off for the second bus I needed. I got off with 3 Aussies just in time to see the bus we wanted pull away in spite of our frantic waving. So we waited and shivered, and I was glad they were with me...I didn't feel unsafe mind you, but that late at night it is dark and there aren't many people around. We finally caught the second bus, but I missed my stop and when I asked the bus driver he said "Oh no, love, it was back there and it's too far to walk. You'll have to get off and catch the N8." Which I did, after waiting at a bus stop with a very large Eastern European woman who was really drunk and had evidently been sent home from a bar by the police, as she kept announcing at the top of her voice. An English guy was trying to help her, but without much success as she was somewhat of a belligerent drunk. The N8 dropped me basically one block from my house, and I was so relieved to be in familiar territory. I walked in after 3am, thinking, I'm getting too old for this!

I went out again last night with my roommate and her boyfriend in Covent Garden, a much more chill night at an Aussie pub. We did have plans to go to an event called "The Church" today (no, it's not religious, it's dancing and drinking), but as it turns out we're doing that next Sunday instead. So I think I'm going to do some grocery shopping once I'm done here at the internet cafe and maybe just wander around a bit. It's much warmer today, at least at the moment, than it has been. I feel like such a wimp! It was so much colder when I left NJ, but I still end up shivering and complaining here.

This has been a bit long, so I'll stop here, but please do keep sending the emails, it keeps me feeling connected to you all. I will let you all know when my parents have figured out the cheapest way to call here, and let me know if any of you want to come visit! Love and miss, Allison.

Random notes

Did I actually say I probably wouldn't have anything exciting to talk about? No offense to any of my British friends, as I think there are several of you who occasionally have a look at my blog, but as one of the ward doctors said to me today "If you think of America as being kind of first world in medicine, the UK is more third world in medicine." You'll see what I mean in a minute when I write about the acute wards for the elderly.

Wednesday I started at work...I haven't actually done any work as of yet, since my supervisor has been out sick yesterday and today. I've just been shadowing others really and interestingly enough, most of the therapy staff are multinational rather than British...South African, Australian, Indian, etc. The uniforms are awful, I'm still working on sorting out the banking and such...but I've been told I absolutely must take 3 days off before April 1, and then will get 27 days annual leave plus 8 bank holidays from April 2006-April 2007. Not bad, eh? On the other hand, I have been somewhat in shock at the state of some of the hospital wards. It's a bit much for a blog entry, but in a nutshell, most of the hospitals are old...Whipps Cross is one hundred years old, with the newest part being 30 years old. The acute wards are as they probably were in Victorian times, with something like 30 men or women all lined up next to each other in one big room, with only curtains on tracks to separate them. So if one of them gets diarrhea, it just goes round the room! It feels a bit middle-agey!

Today I followed along on a home visit for a man who's in hospital...we went to the pub he lives above and met with the pub owners/"landlords"...the pub was okay, i guess, but upstairs oh my god! The stairs were steep with loose boards, not to mention three huge labradors ready to bowl you over. The bathroom has a handle that pulls 3 inches out toward you when you pull on it to open the door, and the floor slopes up, which is just an accident waiting to happen in the middle of the night, or if someone's drunk. The place had stuff everywhere covering every surface, it was a hazard to average healthy people let alone a 78-year-old man!! The landlady told us she'd caught him using a litter pan as his toilet in his one room. It's a very long story, but we basically suspect they dropped him off in A&E (ER) as a way of getting rid of him, because they were essentially illegally boarding him, and now that they're going to get the living quarters above the pub fixed up, they needed him out. And then I was dropped off home, because the two OTs I was with decided there was no sense in my going back to work even though they are not my manager or supervisor!

Anyway, my mobile is now working, so you can reach me on that number as well. I will let you all know when I've chosen a contract phone and at that point the number will probably change...unless, well, I don't know how they port numbers here, so I'll just let you all know what I've done after I've done it.

One more thing-- it's been snowing most of the day here! It changed to rain for a bit, but then right back to snow. Nothing's sticking, but everyone's accusing me of having brought the snow over with me!

At last...

I don't actually have a lot of time, as I'm only spending a quick minute on the computer here at the end of my first day of work at Whipps Cross. Though I suppose I shouldn't call it work, since I spent the morning with my manager signing papers, getting my uniform (ugh), learning what my first rotation would be (day hospital- I'll fill you in on what that's about when I know!)...and then this afternoon I spent with the other basic grades, with a lunch out and then an all afternoon meeting on professional development. All the OTs have been really welcoming I must say! Oh yes, and I found out I have to take 3 days off before April 1, and then as of April 1, I get 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays, and should I happen to get sick, those days are actually separate. I know Americans are workaholics, but it seems to me American companies might have a lot happier employees if they took a lesson from the English and Europeans on holiday time!

Arrived Monday morning, an OT picked me up at the airport, and I am in a pretty nice house in East London where I have not even come close to unpacking yet. I saw my friend Jo on Monday night, a bit surreal as I haven't seen her in a year and half, and it still hasn't hit me that I'm living in London yet, I feel as if I might go home in a week! We had a great time catching up, and will hopefully hang out again this weekend. I then met Maja's friend James on Tuesday who is really, really nice, and who gave me a little walk-round of central London, which also included several pubs, naturally, and I had a great time...I am pretty homesick, but was fully distracted yesterday- thanks James!

My mobile phone number is not active at the moment, it would appear I need to get the handset unlocked, but my address and house phone number that I included in my email to everyone is accurate, and you can reach me in both of those ways. I'll be checking email a bit sporadically over the next 2-3 weeks until we get internet at our house. I have lovely roommates, one who is South African, and one who is an American OT, and I feel pretty lucky all in all with my housing. Speaking of which, I need to go withdraw money to pay the landlord, so I hope everyone is doing well, I miss you all, love you all, and will do my best to keep this blog updated at least twice a week until we get internet at the house. Can't imagine I'll have anything exciting to say, but you never know! Cheers, Allison.

Wish me luck!

I guess it’s time to turn off my computer now and put it in my backpack.  My parents and I figured out a way to talk, or “voicechat” if you will, for free over the internet last night.  Of course, that requires that we both be home and online at certain times, so I’m sure we’ll also be using our phones at times as well.  I’ve spent a good several hours organizing my stuff in the basement today, and it’s time for a shower, last minute details, and a little dinner before we head for the airport.  Doesn’t seem real yet, at this point.  I suppose it might once I keep waking up in a little house in Leytonstone!

Little things

With a little more than 24 hours to go until my flight and my grand British adventure (sounds like half of a Wallace and Gromit title), I find myself short on time and immensely happy over the smallest things.  For instance, I shrunk my duvet with a vacuum storage bag and stuck it in one of my suitcases.  I am currently working on getting my room into guest bedroom condition, and thus went looking for a duvet we had stored in the linen closet to go with the new duvet cover that was bought on sale for $7.99 (unbelievable, right?).  The duvet was found in a vacuum storage bag that no longer had the air sucked out of it (uh-oh, not good news for my suitcases if those storage bags re-inflate themselves mid air or something!), and as I was stuffing it into the new cover, I noticed the tag in the corner.  The duvet was made in Norway but sold by the House of Fraser, a UK department store…how’s that for poetic justice?  And no, I realize that’s not the phrase I want, but I’m drawing a blank here, my brain is just a tad bit fried.  That duvet must have made the move with my parents when they came back to the States in April 2000 after four years in England.

I’ve also got a sort of fuzzy feeling about the scratch on my hand from wrestling with the cat this morning, given that there won’t be any more wrestling matches for a while.  I think she knows I’m leaving too; she seems to be a bit upset with me.

And then there was my mug of hot chocolate with marshmallows this morning…definitely bliss in a cup.  That, along with a woodstove fire, and no reason to venture out into the frigid wind chilled air today, makes for a pretty happy camper!

Niente

Nope, I got nothing.  My head has so much going through it right now that I can’t actually come up with anything even remotely interesting, let alone pithy, to write.  If I think of something, I’ll update later on today, but for now, it’s back to last minute preparations.  

P.S.

5 days now…actually technically, 4 ½!

A little bit of introspection

cour·age (kûr'ĭj, kŭr'-)
n.
The state or quality of mind or spirit that enables one to face danger, fear, or vicissitudes with self-possession, confidence, and resolution; bravery. (from the American Heritage Dictionaries).

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something is more important than fear. (A quote from…well, I don’t remember which movie at the moment, but it is a quote.)

Amazing how we build up our lives of comfort and convenience, and lose out on what we might otherwise have gained by taking advantage of opportunities that test our mettle.  Olympian athletes might very well live by the motto of “no pain, no gain” at least in terms of pushing beyond their limits where the rest of us would say, I’m too tired today, I think I’ll take a break.  But perhaps on a more every day level, I think a lot about “nothing ventured, nothing gained”.  In most situations we have nothing to lose, other than pride, and yet still we often hang back from taking a risk out of fear.  The absolute worst that can happen with any risk is to fail…and what have we really lost if we fail?  Most of the time, we can always try again, and if not, the lessons that we’ve gained from that failure, and what it means to the people we are striving to be, are what we have won in spite of the overt failure.

On a lighter note, I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m happy to see that a number of Olympians are crossing over into modeling on the side.  How much better role models are people like Gretchen Bleiler in a bikini with her snowboard, or Johnny Bloom, than the anorexic, surgically enhanced and unrealistic standard set by the models who blanket most advertising campaigns?  I don’t know about any of you, but my idea of beauty is far from what pop American culture dictates.  And while it was my dream for a long time to become an actor, specifically in musical theater, I must admit that at this point in my life, I am thankful that I chose another route.  Either I’d still be a poor, starving actor desperate for a lucky break, or I might have had a taste of the fame by now that seems to ruin every celebrity’s of finding true devotion and hard work in love, and balance of spirit…not to mention their perpetual dieting and exercise regimens to ensure their marketability to maintain their celebrity status.  (I’m generalizing of course, there are a few exceptions.)

Valentines

So I had two Dove dark chocolate heart-shaped promises today…the first message said “There’s no excuse not to dream” and the second one said “Celebrate family and friends.” Awwwww.

Things are chugging along. I think I’ve repacked my suitcases 3 times already, and still haven’t got it quite right. I had a call from my agent this morning, and my housing situation has changed yet again. I will now be living in a house in Leytonstone, with another American OT (who has been working at Whipps Cross for over a year), an American special ed teacher, and I think one other person. So I will definitely have kitchen, living room, bathroom, laundry, although I forgot to ask about internet. I've sent out an email to everyone with the contact info!

Of course, tons of links to various Valentines Day sites popped up on my homepage this morning (cough, cough-procrastination-cough). I browsed through the History Channel web site and learned there are three possible St. Valentines, and it can’t be determined which one is the “real” one. My eye was caught by a Valentines gift/flower site because the name is pookiesgiftbaskets.com, as well as one advertising singing Valentines…what a fabulous way to embarrass your significant other by sending one of those to their workplace!!

By the way, for any of you not watching, team USA is doing pretty well in Torino, going 1-2 in the Men’s Half Pipe competition (the “Flying Tomato” took the gold), 1-2 in the Women’s Half Pipe competition, and 2 golds in men’s speed skating as well. And I must say, I think I have a new crush on Joey Cheek from NC, who won the 500 meter sprint in speed skating!

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone, whatever it means to each of you. Love, Allison.

Walkin' in a winter wonderland

It’s a winter wonderland out there! Although it’s melting fast…

This morning I paid my fees to be on the OT register through end of October 2007. And a couple of hours later, I was able to look myself up on the Register online and retrieve my registration number OT46551, very cool.

A couple of random culinary notes from this past week:

• Don’t make moussaka without the crust and sauce, it just isn’t the same, no matter how good the recipe promises it will turn out to be.


• Pink Ladys, though very tasty on their own, are not all that great for making applesauce. I’ve had better luck with Braeburns.


• You can make a delicious white lasagna (I made one without any meat since Tress was coming home) with your basic roué (flour and milk), garlic, salt & pepper.

I suppose it’s appropriate to start a countdown at this point: counting today, 7 DAYS until my flight late Sunday evening.

Looking up through the arbor... 

It's heavy snow, good for snowball packing! 

"Suicide Hill" at the edge of our backyard...where there is a white line across the lower middle of the photo- that's where it drops down steeply. Many happy hours sledding here on snow days up through high school! 

View of the old wagon trail from our back deck 

19 hours later...still snowing! 

"Dream big...as big as the ocean blue..."

I'M APPROVED! I just got my letter from the HPC in the mail today that I have been "scrutinised by the Council's assessors" and been found wanting...no, just kidding, I've already had that letter previously. I've been approved for addition to the Register as an Occupational Therapist - that is, as soon as I pay my fees/dues. Good lord, they took so long, shouldn't they take the initial 200 pound fee I paid and be thankful they didn't lose me as an applicant?! Funny how a week from Sunday suddenly seems so much closer!

"Cause when you dream it might come true...When you dream, dream big."

Clydz, take two

As I'm trying to type this, Gerry is snuggling up behind my back on the kitchen chair, demanding attention, since I spent the night away. Boy, am I going to miss her.

So Jenn and I did make it to Clydz last night...they had a cozy little fire going, and it wasn't too crowded. I wanted a "Don't drink too many of these," but they were all out of cinnamon and sugar vodka, so I had a classic sour apple martini, and something called Sweet and Sour Mash. And I discovered that no matter what you mix with it, I am NOT a Jack Daniels girl. Oh well. The Tej at Makeda's made up for it, where Jenn and I split the vegetable combination platter and a shrimp dish. The conversation ranged from Valentine's Day (and I realized I still have to give Chris "the talk" before I leave, given that I have a long reach if need be from London) to visualizing the next 3-5 years, to...well, it was deep conversation, but I'm afraid I'm still now a bit post-alcohol fuzzy this early afternoon. I had meant to stop by Roosevelt this morning and finish up some paperwork at Medical Records before continuing on to the gym for Pilates at 11:30. Well, I did make it to the gym on time! Guess I'd better go do the paperwork first thing Monday morning, I am running out of time!

I'm looking forward to the Opening Ceremony this evening, first of all because I get super-excited about the Olympics, and have done since I was a little girl. But second of all, because they're in Torino!! And the downhill events are in Sestriere, where my family spent a week skiing in 1991, I think it was. I wish I were there so badly! I've been dreaming about Italy a lot lately...well, that and wombats, but we won't go there.

I came home after class just a little while ago to find some emails about my housing in London. My agent had told me I would be in hospital-provided housing, essentially nursing accommodation. But the details that my new manager sent were in relation to a flat I will share for 3 months minimum with another OT who is starting at Whipps Cross this Monday the 13th. My share of the rent is 411 pounds a month, with an additional security deposit tagged on as well as a bit extra for the last bit of February I will spend in London. Which pretty much adds up to 900 pounds due up front when I arrive. Ouch! So my agent went back to my new manager to find out what happened to the nursing accommodation. I've just now finished reading the email, and from her comments like, there is one kitchen and one bathroom for an entire floor, and everything gets stolen from the fridge, and this one is the kicker "I wouldn't put my worst enemy in there"...I think I'll stick with the flat and the one roommate, hmm? And it's only for 3 months so if my friend Jo is serious about looking for a flat together we can do that late spring. So it looks like I will be living in Forest Gate, and working in Leytonstone.

I also had an email about an exclusive live show Coldplay is doing at Abbey Road studios this Monday, and they're running a competition to send a couple of fans...boy, do I have bad timing. Arrrggghhh.

I"ve been very jealous reading my friend Dan's blog lately, and seeing the pictures of all the exotic places he's visited, lately while he was in Hong Kong (there's a link to his blog in my sidebar if you're curious), but hopefully I'll have my own tales to tell very soon. Starting with Italia in May! But none of this before the big snowstorm which will happen overnight tomorrow into Sunday....we're supposed to get a foot or more, I'm so excited, I can hardly contain myself! Tress will be home on Sunday for Dad's birthday, I wonder if I can get her to take a toboggan ride down "Suicide Hill" (our backyard hill leading down into the woods, which is studded with trees) for old times' sake? Probably not if she wants to be sure of avoiding a third broken arm (though I swear to you all, it was not my fault! Being the driver does not mean I automatically take the blame, especially when she's sticking her arm out!).

Guess I'd better pack a bit so I can watch the Opening Ceremonies later.

Ebay, surprisingly enough...

My truck

Some good news re: my truck...I sold it on Ebay!! Yay!! For a price that I'm happy with - none of the offers I was getting from used car resellers were anywhere close to Blue Book value, and I wasn't having any luck with the traditional car ad route. Someone came to look at the truck last night and go for a test drive, and then he went home and used the Buy It Now option. That's most of my 2006 contribution to my Roth IRA right there. One less thing to worry about.

Lighthouse Family

I remember I first discovered Lighthouse Family when I went "home" to England for the first time...it was during college, for winter break 1996-1997. I was blown away by the lead singer's vocals (I am also a big fan of Seal), and bought the CD to bring back with me. Lighthouse Family had been big in the UK for some time, but were relatively unknown in the US.

It has been quite amusing to sort of follow along with popular music moving back and forth beween the UK and the US...for instance, the Corrs were another band I discovered that first winter break I spent with my family in Sunninghill. Three years later, they had some mild success with "Runaway" in the US, and at the present time are pretty well known over here. I worked in New York City for two years, and I think it was the summer of 2001, I had the pleasure of watching them perform live on the Today Show in Rockefeller Square. Of course, I was something like an hour late for work, but so worth it!

And then during my term in Oxford, I left for England at a time where Americans were pretty much sick of Outkast's "Hey yeah" and Usher's "Yeah" because they'd been so overplayed on the radio. But when I arrived in Oxford, they hadn't yet hit...about a month later, they were all over the radio in the UK.

However, Lighthouse Family takes the cake I think...I don't know how long the album had been out in the UK when I discovered it, but "You and Me" has just now started getting some air time on US radio stations, 10 years later from when I first heard it! Maybe it had something to do with the lyrics from "One" being used in a Coke commercial within the past year, who knows...

Brokeback Mountain

First of all, I can't imagine the name is just a coincidence, and you get a pretty good snapshot of the movie from the title, Brokeback Mountain - it pulls no punches, and there's no real buildup, it jumps right into its subject matter. I should not have been surprised, given that this is an Ang Lee film, that it smacks you up and downside the head with visual cinematography. That old cliche "a picture is worth a 1000 words" seems to be Lee's credo. Even though some of us take things in better in an auditory or kinetic medium, in this day and age we are pretty much all visual, we have to be...I mean the bulk of advertising is through television commercials or internet, newspaper readers/subscriptions have dropped precipitously, etc. With the crazy schedules we all call life, the quickest way to stay on top of things is through visual information. It seems like hardly anyone takes the time to write a real letter anymore, for instance. Or to take this blog, I've always been a journaler, although it had become more sporadic these past few years, but now here I am blogging away because it's faster and easier than pen and notebook.

The movie is a lot to take in all at once, and though it deals with love and fear, and the difficulties and social censorship that homosexuals must deal with...it's also a lot about sex, psychological needs, commitment issues, responsibility in relationships, rejection, denial and self acceptance, and the close-minded violence of conformity. That's a mouthful and I don't think I covered it all. Lee gets it all in there, but as a result you kind of feel like you're thrown right into the middle of it, and even now I don't think it has sunk in. It's an extremely powerful film, that will take me a while to process. Were someone to ask me now what the movie is about, or what its message is, I don't think I could do it justice. I see now why Jake Gyllenhall made a comment that he and Heath Ledger ran into each other afterward, and neither one wanted to say what he thought of it, with both of them saying something like, "I don' t know, man, what do you think?" Some of the imagery is violent and intrusive, almost making the movie-watcher feel they have been violated or assaulted, which is probably much to the point. (I'm thinking of the sheep and the imagery shown of Jack's "accident with the tire blowing up.") Though this movie was placed 3-4 decades ago, it's heartbreaking to think we live in a society where such atrocities, such fear and biggotry, still exist.

Whether this movie is having or will have any real social impact is a subject for debate, I suppose, but I'm not sure I've been this moved by a film since I saw Schindler's List... and I'm sure it deeply touches others who've seen it as well. It's a very public piece of the journey toward a widespread social acknowledgement of everyone's right to live their own life as they choose, with whom they choose. Unfortunately, I suspect it probably creates a divide between those people who already support everyone's right to their lifestyle and those who believe there is only one lifestyle-- and the latter will not be found in this movie's audience. But it is in the news, thanks to its content, and now also because of its numerous Oscar nominations, and actually from the President's State of the Union night film reel - and therefore not something that can be summarily dismissed.

If you haven't yet seen it, go see it...though I've stumbled over my tongue this entire blog, I can be clear about this...you won't be exactly the same person who went in when you walk out the theater door.

Go shorty, it's your birthday...

We gon' party like it's your birthday, we gon' sip on Bacardi like it's your birthday...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KRISTY!! We were supposed to be celebrating yours and mine in London right about now, but hey...I'm raising a toast to you in spirit! And we'll just have to do a birthday celebration in July when I see you in England. London won't know what hit it!

From me and "Fitty Cent"...hope you have a wonderful, relaxing day (don't think about your patients- I know you, you're just like me! - let it all go for a day), you amazing person, you.

Lots of love, Allison

Pass It On...

I have had the question of whether it's okay for this web site's address to be given out by those of you reading it to other people you think would be interested. It's perfectly fine...I am posting this journal, blog, whatever, on a public forum and naturally anything I'm not interested in friends, family, or the general public being privy to, will not be posted on this site (ie dating/romantic travails, health issues, confidential information related to patients, etc). If you know people whom you think will find my blog interesting, by all means, pass along the URL... I happen to think the background is BOR-ing at the moment, but maybe that's just me. Hopefully the content makes up for it ;)

It's funny, since I've started this blog, I've been coming home from work thinking, ok, what am I going to tell everyone tonight? Even though there haven't really been comments of late, and people tend to tell me what they think on the phone instead, I still have this tendency to think of it (writing my blog entries) as talking to people. And now I've stopped working, it's amazing how socially isolated I feel. I have plenty to keep me busy, don't get me wrong, but I hadn't realized how much social contact I had through my job. In addition the quality of that social contact is/was much richer, now that I have found a career that I feel is my calling. I'm very eager to get back to working the week of the 20th!

Anywho, I promise this blog will get more interesting as I get over to England in less than two weeks now, and as I begin to travel again. In the meantime, there should be more of my photo albums available on flickr by tomorrow, including those from my travels during my Oxford term...there's a link from the sidebar on the right if y'all feel like browsing.

Italia, patria dei miei sogni!

It's official, I have been invited back to Brognoligo by the Florys, who told me this weekend they would be there the whole month of May. I hope there's a bank holiday in May, but no matter, even if it's only for a short weekend, there is no question of whether I'll go. This time though, I plan to get a flight to the "right" small airport, which I believe is Verona. Guess I'd better double check that.

I'm a little on the fence about the new background...now it seems a bit too simple. I need to figure out how to get a little image behind my title to perk it up a bit. Anyone know how to do that?

Cleo

So this is Cleo, who is now living with Brian and Carla. She was a stray who was rescued by someone I worked with at Roosevelt. However, she needed a home, and I'm a sucker for this kind of thing, having already taken 2 tiny kittens last summer and found homes for them (one of those kittens is named Annabelle and now living with Chris Burk and family!). Cleo was actually going to go to London with me, but there were too many logistical knots to work out, so she has been adopted by Carla and Brian. She now has a shiny coat, a little pot belly, and she "talks" with a series of chirps or barks, whichever you prefer. When I went to see Carla yesterday, Cleo was looking out the screen door and chattered away as I walked into the house. It's a toss-up though as to whether she actually remembered me... Taking bets on who thinks I'll end up with a kitten in London...


A rare picture of Cleo, who instinctively knows how to foil picture-takers...

"Superfan" (my favorite from the Superbowl commercials)

Superbowl Sunday

I've no real interest in Pittsburgh or Seattle, and I'm not in a pool...however, as a proud American I will watch for the commercials! I think the first of the "Johnson" Kelloggs' Raisin Crunch series of commercials started during last year's Superbowl...and of course the cult hit "Waaaaasssssuuuupppppp" beer commercial was first aired during a Superbowl. As were the "Bud"---"weis"---"errrrr" frog commercials. So even if the game isn't close, which I hope it is for entertainment sake, there are always the commercials. And the food (I've made a pork and three bean chili) nachos, guacamole, cornbread, hot wings, football ice cream cake....and of course, the friends. Speaking of which, I still have to run off and spend some time with Carla, since she takes off for Hawaii on Wed, and doesn't return until the day I leave. Happy Superbowl watching everyone, whether you're in it for the teams or not!

How many hours are in two weeks?

Now that I've had my last day of work, things seem to be picking up pace for my departure. I'm trying to sell my truck through ebay before selling it for below Blue Book value to a reseller. I've ordered a UK SIM card, which should be here by the middle of next week, so I will have a UK mobile phone number to give you all before I leave. And I'm working on packing...trying to decide whether to leave suitcases for my parents to bring in April and/or Viv to bring in March - she did volunteer to bring as many of my shoes as she could in one suitcase...thanks a lot, Viv, very funny. You should talk. And I also need to figure out how to get my reference textbooks over - they are really heavy, so I don't really want to take them myself and use up my luggage weight allowance. I could send them by boat, which would take a few months , but that's still fairly expensive, and I think I will need them before they would arrive. Hmmm. I might have to suck up taking on the weight of a choice few in my luggage that will go with me on the plane in two weeks. In addition, I had promised my parents I would sort through all of my junk in their basement before I left, some of the boxes being from grade school I think! No one is betting on me completing that task in time, I don't think.

Oh, and I'm trying to finish up my 10 AMPS test cases, so that I will be officially calibrated as an AMPS administrator, and be able to use the tool at Whipps Cross with my patients. I guess I need to turn to friends and family at this point, given that I'm no longer working, and only managed 6 test cases before my last day.

Totally unrelated to everything I'm trying to squish into two weeks, I've noticed that blogger is archiving my posts now. If I've referred back to a post that you can't find by scrolling down, check out the sidebar and click on January 2005 for archived posts. And since it seems to be a little boring when too many posts go by without pictures, I've added several this morning. Happy browsing...

it was called "mile high pie" and i think six of us worked on it...

after work on my last day...and now i don't need a valentine, i have a balloon teddy with his heart in his hands! awww...

Enjoying my birthday serenade with Don, my other dad, in the background

No idea what I was doing here...random xmas photo

Last Day

A long day, a little dazed, a little tired...a lot happy. All of my current paperwork was completed, my caseload handed over to Tiffany, and I saw all but one of my patients who will have to be seen tomorrow instead. And I received a very flattering thank you card from the rehab director. This picture was taken right before I headed out the door for a Blue Moon on tap across the street at Champps:) More pictures to come from tonight as soon as I get copies from Yam and Meliza.

last day, purple scrubs

Grumble, grumble, Uncle Sam, grumble...

I recently put all my tax info into a web-based Turbo-Tax program, since I want to get my taxes finished and filed by end of next week. And I was not a happy camper when I came to the end of the program and discovered I would be getting back a little less than half of what I automatically paid out to the govt from my weekly paychecks. So I had a discussion with my parents in which I was trying to figure out whether I should fork out the money for a CPA, or something like H&R Block to get more money back. When I'd finished explaining everything, my dad started laughing and said, "Allison, you're talking about the govt taking approximately 8.5-9% out of your total earnings from 2005...just wait until they're taking 25% of your yearly earnings!"

Evidently, I have become too used to getting everything back the past three years I was a graduate student, because as it turns out, Uncle Sam does get to claim its "fair share" of my hard-earned money!

Next January, for this tax year 2006, I'll get everything back given that I'm only working 6 weeks of it in the US...although that brings up a whole new can of worms, since I've no idea what I do about declaring foreignly earned money. Hmmm.

Trashy TV

Just a little addition to yesterday's post...I will certainly not miss the married housekeeping staff making comments about how I look good in my jeans, and taking my cell phone number from the rehab office emergency contact list and starting to send me text messages/call me. And also, for one reason or another which is not my place to publicize, my two favorite nurses are leaving, one quite suddenly yesterday, and one told me today she was leaving. Aside from group therapy this morning, where all the therapists were in the mood to dance today and Rhonda and I were in rare form for "Proud Mary," it was a pretty sad day.

I was supposed to meet Jenn at Clydz in New Brunswick tonight - I cannot leave NJ without a parting trip to the best martini bar in the whole wide world. The fact that there is always one good-looking bartender is actually beside the point, once you get lost in their list of what seems like 100 martinis. I suppose the sour apple martini will always be one of my favorites, but of late I'm quite taken with a martini called "For A Good Time Call... " And if that weren't enough, they also make the best mojitos I have ever tasted. The little bar is below street level, very cozy, with a small fireplace, and I love it! Unfortunately, we did not make it there tonight, but Jenn & I decided that next week we will have a Clydz and Makedas night (Makedas being a fabulous Ethiopian restaurant a block or so down from Clydz) which spells trouble between the martinis at Clydz and the Tej at Makedas... might need to call in her boyfriend Chris at the end of the night as a designated driver. "Trouble with a capital T and that rhymes with P and that stands for pool!"

But tonight, Jenn was just getting over a migraine from earlier in the day, so I went to her condo, and we watched trashy TV. Which I pretty much never do...The trouble with trashy TV is that it's like a train wreck...you can't look away! As awful as it is, you get sucked in, and you find yourself talking to/yelling at the TV. Tonight on MTV we watched girls compete to be the most like Hillary Duff so that they could be picked as the winner by some random guy, and thereby be "His Own Hillary Duff." And then we watched a former member of the very short-lived boy band O-Town and his current mess of a life. The format of the show is awful where every so often the background is freeze-framed, and the guy kind of steps out to make monologues to the camera. Oh, the horror! Eventually we found our way to Will & Grace, and sanity again.

I guess I'd better be off to bed as I do have one more day of work tomorrow, but in case some of you didn't hear, Punksatawny Phil did see his shadow today, surprise, surprise, it was warm and sunny...as long as there's no snow headed this way around Feb 19, I have no problem with 6 more weeks of winter. :)

I'm A Cow

I am really going to miss my coworkers. We have a lot of fun together at work, and make a lot of plans outside of work too...before I leave, we still plan to get into the city to see Wicked (there's a lottery at 4pm every day to get front row tickets for $25 each), and club it up!, among other things.

At work, though, my fellow therapists really make my day, every day. Given the stress and wear of the job, and the emotional rollercoaster ride it always is, we have a really nice rapport with each other. We support each other, we help each other out, we give each other advice and shoulders to lean/cry on...and we make each other laugh, sometimes so much so that someone is literally rolling on the floor, or has a face the color of a tomato. We know how much we each care about our patients, so the gallows humor (that is present in every health care job as a coping tool) is not mistaken for anything malicious...after having seen a patient have a stroke in front of you (me) or collapse from a heart attack on the rehab gym floor in front of you, never to get up again (a PT), you can't avoid the black humor. We therapists share mutual respect and admiration for each other, and thankfully all have thick skin...because we make fun of ourselves, and probably more often we make fun of each other.

Several of the therapists I work with moved to the US from the Philippines sometime in the last five years. They are all petite, and somewhere along the line, an inside joke started where they first called themselves monkeys and then everyone (by their permission of course) started to join in the joke. Something to do with all the jungle in the Philippines, and our occasional misunderstanding due to slang or something...however, one day, one of the PTs spoke up and said,

"I don't like being called a monkey. I'm not a monkey. I'm a cow... I moved here for greener pastures!"

You know you're from MA when...

I got this forward from my Jenn today, and I laughed my butt off...my co-workers thought I'd "gone round the bend" since they initially had no idea what I was laughing about. And they thought the same after they saw the email, since none of them have lived in Massachusetts and so didn't really get some of items on the list. When I first moved to Massachusetts, a lot of things were frustrating, such as how everyone uses Dunkin Donuts as a landmark when giving directions, even though there's a Dunkin Donuts on every corner! But by the time I'd been there about a year, I was doing the same...so here are a few choice picks from the list:

You know you're from MA when...

1...there are 24 Dunkin Donuts shops within 5 miles of your house, and that is how you give directions.

2...53 degrees is on the "warm side". (The college undergrads all wear flip-flops at 30 or above)

3...you can use the words "wicked," "pissa," and "good" all in the same sentence. (I don't know, this might be true in the UK as well, if I remember correctly.)

4...if you stay on the same road long enough, it has up to 10 different names.

5...you can navigate a rotary without a problem. (This I don't agree with, MA drivers are the worst in the world, and have NO idea how to use a rotary, since I have driven in the UK and see/learned how rotaries should be used.)

6...a water fountain is called a "bubbla".

Hope you enjoy, these certainly made my day after a difficult morning (emotionally) with one of my patients. Oh, and happy February everyone! Any predictions for Punksatawny Phil tomorrow, by the way?

19 more days!

Can I tell you how excited I am getting?!! I now have a little map book of all of extended/greater London, and it actually shows my hospital on the Leyton page. It appears the hospital campus is right next to a very large wooded/park sort of area, with a big lake in the middle, so I am looking forward to new running terrain...or walks, should my hips be acting up that day. Either way right now I've got the treadmill or concrete suburbia, so I'm looking forward to the park.

Also, I seem to have a social network already set up before even setting foot in the country! Ok, a little presumptuous of me, but I do have contact information for many people besides the friends I have kept in touch with from Oxford. Kristy's sister, Maja's friends from college and one she befriended much more recently, two co-workers' friends, and a very good friend of mine from grad school who will be following me over around April-ish...ok, so that doesn't count, she's imported, but her British boyfriend and his circle of friends count!

So the big question is, can I afford to check out all the great restaurants, bars, pubs, and clubs on an OT's salary? Not to mention everything else happening in London...

I can't wait to get back to a big city! I do miss working in NYC- "the" city- and having lived in Boston for three years, I do miss being able to walk every where. 19 more days!