"Do you have the time to listen to me whine, about nothing and everything all at once?"

I came home from work today and found a random voicemail message waiting for me on Skype. A voice that said something like,"Hi Allison, this is Sam (?) just trying out this Skype thing, sorry for calling you...." I clicked on his Skype userID which was unclothedmars and discovered his name is Sameer and he lives in Minneapolis. I have no idea who he is, or how he found my skypeID, or why he called me, and proceeded to leave a message- because I assume I am as much of a stranger to him as he is to me. As I said - random.

The physio that I work with asked me this morning whether I have been enjoying my time in England thus far. And I said that I'm still adjusting, given that everything hasn't gone exactly as planned, or exactly as I saw it in my head (but then again, what ever does?)...but I said that I've been excited lately because I've started to plan out my trips and vacation time. And I reflected out loud that that was important since the other half of my reasons for coming over here, my professional reasons, were currently kind of falling flat on their face. Which of course begged some sort of explanation for Annette, the OT Assistant and Angelica, the physio, even though my Falls Group patients were waiting for class to begin (well, not mine per se, but Ann is just back from vacation, and asked me if I wouldn't mind doing her class again this week). So I said, you have to understand, I was working in an inpatient rehab hospital in NJ, where on average I had 13-15 patients a day ("a DAY?!" was the reaction from Angelica), and I'm not learning anything sitting here trying to look busy every afternoon. At which point Annette chimed in to say, yes I think we don't really need a full-time OT here, Ann and I manage, and I can see where this isn't of benefit to you professionally. So then I mentioned that I also wasn't aware before I arrived that the rotations are doled out based on preference sheets that each of the Basic Grade OTs hand in two months or so before the next rotation - and that Barbara tries to be fair in assigning the rotations. Thus, if someone has put down that they want stroke rehab for the past two or three rotations and not yet had it, they would get it over me, the newcomer. So Annette told me I should make it clear to Barbara that I had come over here specifically with the intention of getting experience in neuro and specifically stroke rehab, and that I deserved to get stroke rehab (that second part is Annette speaking, not that I should say to Barbara "I deserve..."). She went on to say the last Basic Grade they'd had at the Day Hospital had moved on to the stroke rehab unit and really didn't have the skills to have done so. As much as I was flattered by Annette's implied compliments, and as much as I REALLY want the stroke unit, it burns me up because I do respect what Barbara has tried to do with the rotations. They are in place for OTs to learn, and you'd have all kinds of problems if you didn't do the assignments as fairly as possible. Meaning, you can't be assigning all the "choice" rotations always to the same OTs, even if they are the most skilled or best performers or whatever. The Basic Grade position is meant to help new OTs learn, and if they aren't challenged, they won't gain clinical experience. Which gives me another reason to scream silently AGGGGGGGH because my almost a year's worth of experience in the US amounts to pretty much nothing...I should be entitled to apply for a Senior II rotation based on work experience (and my skills, now that I've seen the level the other Basic Grades are performing at!), but you know us American OTs, who knows whether we'll be any good!

Sorry...but that made me feel better :) Anyway, so I was saying I've been happily making travel plans recently, and Angelica was saying how great that was, that I'm able to at least fulfill the personal goals I had in coming over here. She's talking about how she'd like to live in NYC for awhile, but won't be able to work there as a physio, or most places for that matter, so she's feeling a bit trapped and stagnated at the moment. I've been talking with her about Italy, which she might join me for, but if not, she said she's definitely up for a long weekend in Prague. I'll be in Oxford for part of this upcoming weekend, I've been invited out to Kristy's sister's house for the following weekend, and I'm hoping to make plans with Nicole Levesque pretty soon - she arrives on Friday! Hawaii and Vermont in July, someplace beachy in August (Turkey, Spain, Morocco?). I'm thinking Oktoberfest as well, maybe the Christmas markets in early December, and who knows how many weekend trips in between. Like the Scottish Highlands this summer...mmm, that would be nice.

In the short term, my roommates and I have just about decided on throwing a small Cinco de Mayo party (bringing a bit of that 'Americans will take any excuse to celebrate' culture to England!), small because we each probably only know 3-4 people to invite. I'm excited about the menu of course, and was trying to persuade my roommates we should have one just so I could have an excuse to make homemade guacamole and homemade sangria! Fiesta!! Or better yet...TEQUILA! Duh-duh-da-duh-da-duh-duh-da (you have to hear the sax in your head, I can't do it justice with da's and duh's)

Homeless

http://wanderingscribe.blogspot.com/

I read an article about this blog on the BBC web site and had to go find the blog myself. This woman has been homeless-living out of her car- for about 8 months now. She evidently keeps up her appearance by taking showers and ironing her clothing in hospitals, and uses whatever benefit money she gets toward food and gas. She is incredibly articulate- a stark juxtaposition to what we perhaps stereotypically expect to find in a homeless person. Her blog is humbling (and that is an understatement), and challenges the rest of us to take a good, long hard look at what we take for granted every day.

Kristy, this made me think of that research proposal you did for Diana, and I've been musing on occupational deprivation, specifically as it relates to homelessness, as I've been sifting through this woman's blog.

Must come from working with older adults...

Found this web site, www.AgeHumor.com, and man, some of these are hilarious! Just a few from a very long list...

Old musicians never die, they just decompose
Old kids never die, they just grow up
Old blondes never fade, they just dye away
Old swimmers never die, they just have a stroke
Old academics never die, they just lose their faculties
Old bosses never die, much as you want them to.
Old card players never die, they just lose their tricks
Old cricketers never die, they just get bowled over
Old doctors never die, they just lose their patience
Old fireflies never die, they just find that they can't glow on
Old fishermen never die, their rods just go limp
Old fishermen never die, they just smell that way
Old geologists never die, they just petrify
Old golfers never die, they just lose their balls

St. George's Day

Today is St. George's Day, St. George being the patron saint of England. His emblem is a red cross on a white background and was brought to England in the 12th century by Richard the Lion Heart. Believe it or not, the flag of England is a red cross on a white background! (I think we foreigners tend to think the Union Jack is the flag.) However, unlike other countries, such as Ireland and St. Patrick's Day, today is not a holiday, nor is it treated like a National Day. In fact, a lot of people over here have no idea when St. George's Day is, beyond "er, sometime in April?"

Cry God for Harry, England and Saint George!
William Shakespeare (Henry V)

The London Marathon has been going on this morning. I would almost run it just for the fact that you get to run over the Tower Bridge...almost. But I know my body too well to ever try and run for that distance and length of time! It must be pretty cool to run over the Tower Bridge with thunderous cheering all around you, though.

Freedom on wheels

I thought not having a car would be a great thing...and it is. Even though you can get a used car pretty cheaply over here, there was no need for an initial chunk of money to buy a car. I don't have to worry about car insurance, car tax, car registration, paying for driving lessons and getting a British driver's license, or paying for petrol(gas). And that's a financially sound decision-not to have a car-as I am living in London with a great public transportation system where it is definitely possible to get around using the tube, buses, trains, or of course, my own feet. Not to mention the airports! Public transportation can have it's share of closures or delays which can be as bad as a standstill traffic jam, and it quite often takes me a couple of hours to get where I want to go, but still, I can get just about anywhere. However, I miss driving. I miss my car. I miss the independence of being able to take off and go wherever, whenever I want.

Movin right along, let's get this show on the highway...

I'm going to give this post by email thing a try, on another (surprise, surprise) slow afternoon. New happenings: travel! I've booked my flights for a short trip to Italy over Memorial Day Weekend, as the Monday is also a holiday here (although I don't know what the reason is for the British holiday). I've taken Friday off as well, to have a nice long weekend. My roommate has backed out out of the trip, so I invited the physio I work with...it's actually not a big deal if I go alone, since I'll be staying with the Florys, but I thought it'd be fun to bring someone else along. I'm so excited I can hardly wait!

I've also made plans with my friend Jo to return to Oxford for May Day...which is not this weekend but next. I've got that Monday off as well, so I'll go to Oxford for Sunday and Monday. Bright and early Monday morning with the sunrise, there are singers on the tower of a college that overlooks the Thames. Apparently university students who are still drunk from the night before will be jumping off the bridge into the river. And I plan on finally going to evensong at Christ Church the night before (meant to do that before leaving Oxford last time). I'm really looking forward to that as well, I loved being in Oxford, even though it was for a very short time.

Oh, and we also planned a trip to an amusement park near London for early June...I don't know if I'll spell it right, but from how Jo said it, I think it might be Thaught Park. She has a number of buy one get one free entrance coupons, so although it's not an exotic trip or anything, it should be fun!

Some good news in our family - Tressa has been offered a job! And it looks like she may very well take it. It's with a Catholic NGO, and she would do a year's fellowship in Rwanda first, after which they'd offer her a "proper" job, from what I understand. I think at this point we can call it a love affair with Africa!

I have had another slow afternoon, where I have actually run out of things to do to make myself busy. I found myself daydreaming about whether I'll want to buy a place out in Colorado with beautiful mountain vistas, or in NJ where most of my close friends and parents are, or perhaps a bit farther south on the ocean, such as North Carolina. Choices, choices! But that's getting way ahead of myself. At the moment, I'm trying to get coordinated with Maja (ex-roommate from Boston who is currently living in Sarajevo) for a vacation in late August-- my latest idea today is perhaps Morocco. And my friend from Tufts, Nicole, has finally had her work permit come through, so she'll be getting her flight to begin life in Guildford, Surrey weekend after this one. So congrats to Tressa and Nicole!!

Jet

For those of you who know of my tradition of buying jewelry rather than souvenirs on my trips, this is my latest addition. They were bought in Whitby over Easter weekend, and the stones are what they call "jet," apparently black amber. It's unique to that particular area of England, and evidently the Queen owns several pieces of jet specifically made for her by various craftsmen.


Jet earrings from Whitby

Oh, the tangled webs we weave...

Beaurocracy and red tape are just so much fun! I had a phone call from the daughter-in-law of a former patient at the Day Hospital. They need a new type of commode that will fit over the top of their toilet, and as the patient only left an in-patient rehab ward at my hospital a week ago, they first phoned up the OTs there. The daughter-in-law was told by the OTs there to phone social services. Social services said to phone the person who originally issued the commode (Ann, my supervisor, who is still on her Easter holiday). However, since the patient was discharged from the Day Hospital, we can't provide services for her at the moment. It just seems ridiculous...I suppose the rehab OTs couldn't provide a new commode for the same reason, but it's just become a game of passing the buck. I've told the poor woman I'll have Ann call her back next week, and hopefully we'll be able to assist in finding the right person to get them a new commode.

I am without enough work again, but no one at the main department needs any help, aside from someone to sit in the office and man the phones...which is a waste of resources to have me do that, but with nothing better to do...I mean I'd just be sitting at the Day Hospital trying to look busy, same as here. I know I was stressed out over caseload in NJ, and was wishing I could have a more manageable number of patients to be seen daily, but I hadn't wanted this much of a reduction! Combine that with I'm not really enjoying doing discharge work/home modification, and I'm already looking forward to my next rotation, which is months away!

I know I said I wasn't going to talk about the weekend, but post the pictures instead, however, there's something of a funny story involved. Or at least, I thought it was funny, maybe you had to have been there. You can decide for yourselves...so we participated in this interactive murder mystery weekend where the suspects mingled in character, as part of their character development. We were made fun of a lot, as were another American couple sitting near us, a Canadian, a group of people from Glasgow, and a woman who was practically popping out of her shirt in most of the outfits she wore (this mystery went on for two dinners and two breakfasts). The main actor decided the sixteen-year-old young man at the table next to her was "copping an eyeful" every chance he got, and announced this observation to the rest of us. It was quite funny, and overall, very well done I think. My mom won the "Close but No Cigar" award, for figuring out who'd done it, and half of the motive. There was no prize for this award, other than a statement near the bottom of her certificate which stated she should congratulate herself on not having submitted a theory so pathetically off base as to have earned her the "Plonker" award. The certificate was actually very funny, but I can't remember the rest.

Walworth Castle, near Darlington. This is the castle we stayed at this weekend for our murder mystery, and day trips to York, Whitby, and other stops on the way. We had a great weekend! Rather than talk a lot, I think I'll do a series of picture blogs... 

The four poster bed in our castle room 

The view from my window in our castle room 

York has this really great medieval city wall, very well preserved, which almost completely encircles the old city. The wall runs about 3 miles around, and you can walk the entire circle. We heard ethereal singing from the Minster as we walked the wall, and you could almost imagine yourself back in the middle ages. The original castle, Clifford's Tower, was built by William the Conquerer.

My mom coming down from the city walls at Monks Bar, one of the fortified buildings on the wall where soldiers were stationed. 

The York Minster, or cathedral. I wish I'd been able to fit it all into the frame, it's amazing. 

"The Shambles" in York...most towns used to have what they called the shambles were animals were slaughtered for meat, and butchers' shops were found. This area in York is famous for the old old buildings which lean toward each other over the narrow street...the two in the middle of this picture are so close they almost touch. 

A white horse cut out of the chalk in Kilburn. 

A panoramic view as we entered the start of the high Yorkshire moors. This is looking back on farmland. The moors, well I don't have any pictures, but think the Baskerville Hounds with lots of gorse and heather. 

I love the shadows in this picture. 

A passing moment of sunshine on the magnificent Whitby Abby. 

Graveyard next to the Whitby Abbey, made famous in Brahm Stokers "Dracula". You can just see the ocean, a faint streak of blue beyond the rail, where Dracula crossed the ocean from Transylvania to England. 

Two little black lambs were frollicking on the hillside in Whitby. Baa baa black sheep have you any wool... 

Whitby, an oceanside town from above. 

Whitby...this picture was taken from a very steep and long set of steps leading down from the abbey to the town. 

A gala affair

This morning, I received approval for my vacation days between Christmas and New Years...I was really surprised to get it, as I'd been told I wouldn't get an official yes or no until October (because I will be on a different rotation when Christmas comes around, and there's no telling which one until October). Annette was standing next to me as I was wondering about getting approval back so early, and threatened me to within an inch of my life that I was still to attend the Connaught Day Hospital Christmas ball, even though I would be on a different rotation. Guess that gives me plenty of time to find a date.

I was in central London yesterday afternoon for an AMPS support meeting (check it out, I've updated my OT blog, about time!) which took place at The National Hospital for Neuroscience and Neurology, or something like that. It was near the tube station of Holborn (pronounced Ho-bun), which was where I had agreed with my parents to meet at 7:15 for a walk entitled "Ghosts, Gaslight, and Guinness."

I walked out of the meeting a little after 5pm, and started to wander around, looking for a place to eat. It took me awhile to realize I had voice messages on my phone, and my parents had actually sat down for tea at Harrods and expected me to join them. For whatever reason, you do feel very posh sitting on the balcony of the Terrace Restaurant at Harrods for tea, and my parents decided to do the whole high tea shebang, with scones, clotted cream, finger sandwiches, and desserts. We did manage to get back to Holborn in time for the walk, which was lead by Richard III. Not in costume, he's just the third Richard who joined the company as a guide. All of the guides I've had with "London Walks" have a flair for the dramatic- make that melodramatic- and this guy was no different. He'd build whatever story he was telling up to a crescendo and then exit stage left, leaving us to shake our heads and follow. His stories last night were mainly on the themes of murder, ghosts, and prostitution...the most recent ghosts being BBC radio hosts who died in 2000 and still haunt their old desks.

We enjoyed the walk, saw some of the only surviving, still working gas lamps in London, stopped for half pints of Guinness midwalk, I met some cute guys, and we learned the origin of the phrase "a gala affair." Back when Catholicism was outlawed and the king announced himself head of the Church of England, those Catholics who chose to continue in secrecy were sought out and hung (and/or drawn and quartered) as heretics. There were 8 days annually for these "gallow affairs" which drew big crowds and were kind of treated as holidays or a day out or whatever. If you say gallow quickly, you can see how it morphed into "gala." A bit grisly, given our use of the word these days for a celebration, but then again, I suppose that's what it was then as well, given humans' penchant for guts and gore (anyone go to see Hostel?).

My parents and I are off for York, Walworth Castle, and our murder mystery weekend early tomorrow morning, so my apologies but there won't be any more entries until Monday. But I'll have pictures to post again finally! Happy Easter to everyone, I'll be thinking of you all on Sunday, my love to all.

Belgium in London

It was still rather rainy and chilly when I met up with my parents after work, and my mom had been cold all day, so we did not end up doing the walk. We met up with Jo, and the four of us headed to Belgo near Covent Garden, a restaurant both Jo and I had heard other people talk about. It's in the basement, and it's supposed to be a Belgian monastery/brewery kind of atmosphere. The waiters all wear psuedo monk robes. The food was excellent, although none of us went for mussels which they are famous for. They had a ton of Belgian beer available, and I was happy to find they had Duvel, a Belgian beer a friend turned me on to when I was in Oxford. One of the very few beers I actually like. And after the kind of day I'd had, it was just what I needed. I didn't need the dessert, but it was delicious. I do plan to stop over-eating...umm, after Easter and my parents have gone back. Although I'm sure there will be another handy excuse at that point in time. Ah well.

Hey, just had a text from Jo who left us to go see The Crucible...I saw it maybe a week ago, and told her she would love it. She's texted to say it's absolutely gripping. I think the two of us will go see Avenue Q when it gets here, I've wanted to see that ever since it hit Broadway. I'd also entertained thoughts of getting my parents and I tickets to see Hay Fever for Thursday night, with Dame Judi Dench, but they're 62 pounds each.

Classic

We went to see One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in the West End last night. My parents wanted to see Movin' Out, but offered to get me a ticket for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest since they knew I wanted to see it. I said that was silly since they were here to visit me, and even though I didn't really want to see Movin' Out, told them to get tickets for that (they were at the half price ticket booth in Leicester Square). By the time I'd joined them, they had tickets for One Flew...because the woman at the ticket booth told them the seats for Movin' Out weren't good at all. And we could hardly have gotten better seats for One Flew... since we were smack in the middle of the dress circle, second row, in a small intimate theater. Christian Slater and Alex Kingswood (ER) were starring. And it was really, really good! I was not familiar with the story, even though it's a classic, and my mom, who'd seen the movie and didn't expect to like the play, thought it was excellent. Christian Slater has put on a fair bit of weight, but has managed to retain a six-pack somehow (insert wolf whistle here), and was excellent as an imposter crazy man. It's quite disturbing at the end, and raises issues about mental health treatment (takes place in a mental institution), past and present, but the play was really funny as well. I was very impressed with the cast as an ensemble, and what I tend to call "off-ball movement"...carries over from playing soccer from the time I was 6 until I was 18, where the coaches always wanted you to be moving when you didn't have the ball to create opportunities for you teammate who did have the ball to pass it to you. I kept this term as I moved into doing musicals and plays in high school. Anyway, these actors were all very good at character development while the action was not focused on them.

I'm meeting my parents tonight after work for dinner, and then I think we've planned to do a guided walk, although it's raining at the moment, so we may scrap that bit of the plan. Might end up being for the best, as I have a ton of laundry to be doing at home. Have been very introspective lately, kind of reviewing my place in life at the moment, but not really appropriate for a public blog, sorry ;) Love to all.

I've been wearing my new scrub pants today, which are not quite an exact match for the official uniform pants color, but close enough I think. Thus far, no one has said anything. Although of course, I guess the real test would be one of our weekly meetings where the Head OT is present, and whether she would notice.

My parents just called to say they were getting on a Thames boat cruise...from what I've heard, it's a pretty nice day out there, even though it started out quite chilly this morning. Not sure I'm going to enjoy my summer here--everyone keeps telling me that it's not necessarily warm all the time, that the weather can in fact be on the cold side. And while summer is sometimes late in arriving in New England, I am used to it being summer once it's summer, meaning warm or even hot!

I've been quite frustrated today (probably since I've had time to be frustrated, I have had patients, but not a whole day's worth of work) in terms of a continual healthcare problem. I really wonder what makes people get into the field sometimes. In the US, I suppose you could point to money, since healthcare is something of a lucrative career choice at the moment. But over here, even though salaries are low since the jobs are government jobs, you get the same problems. Such as the SHO (resident) who had a meeting during normal lunchtime, and then took an extra hour for her lunch afterward, in spite of patients needing to be seen. It's just the nature of the beast in healthcare that sometimes you stay late to write notes, or you miss lunch, or you only get 15 minutes for lunch because we're in the service of our fellow human beings. And when you get people who don't care about patients as individuals, and aren't cognizant of being respectful, and aware of maintaining people's dignity, and addressing all the problems that need attention...you really wonder why people didn't choose a different career path. Healthcare jobs are not thankless jobs in general, but some days it can feel like that, and you have to remember that you're dealing with people who are unwell and under a lot of stress, and on days where you yourself are under the weather, patience is more than a virtue, it's a lifeline. I've seen even good, caring, committed therapists lose it on days where they're stretched too thin. So it's hard to ignore the casual indifference of healthcare professionals who aren't doing their best for people who have come to them for help and have every right to expect the best treatment for their problems.

Early Easter and new words

My parents arrived early this morning, and I discovered in the process of going to meet them that the underground doesn't open on Sundays until 7am. We wrestled all the suitcases (in fairness, half of what they brought what mine) onto the underground, and arrived at Oxford Hotel to discover it was the wrong hotel. We actually wanted The Oxford Hotel (note the addition of "The") which is near Lancaster Gate in Hyde's Park, but it was close so we took a taxi instead of getting back on the tube. It's a tiny little room with a shower you can't turn around in (for those of you who have travelled in Europe, it's evident that we Americans are obsessed with space, our hotel rooms being just one example)...however it will suit their purposes just fine for the next few days.

We left after they'd checked in, and went to have a look at Petticoat Lane Market, which to be honest wasn't all that exciting. As my mom pointed out, there wasn't much variety, mainly clothing and shoes. Although there was one stall which had purses laid out with shoes that exactly matched each purse, which I thought was funny. We had Indian food on Brick Lane for linner, or maybe dunch if you prefer, and then walked through Spitalfields Market on our way back to the hotel. Spitalfields Market looked a lot better in my opinion, though we only really walked through it. However, Camden Lock Market is still the best I think, and as soon as the weather warms up just a tad more, I plan to go back. Well that, and I'm waiting for pay day in about a week and a half, since I'm giving my parents a bunch of money from my account this week to take back and put into my American account for student loans.

Next stop was my house, both so my parents could get rid of all the stuff they'd brought for me, and because I was in need of my father's services to figure out how to assemble a cheap desk. The desk is now finished, and going through all the stuff they'd brought was like Christmas! Er, I guess I should say, like Easter! I now have two pairs of scrub pants the same color as my uniform pants, so I plan to start wearing them instead. I have lots of cosmetic supplies, and lots of food supplies that I can't find here. And I will admit, I may have gone over board on the clothing I've brought over, now that my parents have brought the last of it...they wanted to know how on earth I'm going to get everything back! Ooh, and they brought me egg crates for my bed! It's heaven on earth.

Some new words for this week...you know how Britney Spears is always being described in magazines these days as acting/looking "trailer trash"? Evidently, they use the word "chav" here to mean the same thing. And then there's "lash"...all I can say there is that it has something to do with drinking, because it can be used in so many ways, one example being someone going out the bars might say, "I'm gonna lash it up tonight!" I think you can also be "on the lash".

I think I'm going to get ready for bed, mmm, my newly comfy cozy bed, and will turn on the new Harry Potter dvd (thanks Mom & Dad), and crash. I was up until almost 5am on Saturday playing Texas Hold 'Em, and out again for a couple of hours last night dancing, and I am wrecked. I could sleep for 12 hours I think.

No news really

So it's not even 3pm yet, and I'm bored out of my mind. My supervisor (who has been in this week, it turns out it's these next two weeks she's on holiday) told me I could take off a bit early, as I'll be sure to make it up while she's off, so I think I will leave in just a bit. There has been no one for OT to see today because the one person on the attendance list I was asked to see did not attend...her husband had forgotten about the appointment. Or actually, as he said to the nurse on the phone, but her appointment's not till Friday, and the nurse said, yes, and it is Friday.

I'm home alone tonight, or I will be if I stay home. My roommies are out with their respective men, and my big night this weekend is planned for tomorrow. So I'm thinking I'll go home now, have a nice hot bath, and if nothing else, I'll take myself to the movies;) Ice Age 2, which I'm sure some of you have already seen, since it was out in the US end of March, is officially opening today, and I'd really like to see it at some point. So if I don't come up with anything else for tonight, I might do that. Well, gym first, then movie.

And then I might do some surfing around on the internet for ideas for my first long weekend with a Monday off due to a bank holiday. It's coming up last weekend of April, with May 1st being the Monday I have off. My roommate Nicole and I had talked about Budapest, but she now is feeling a bit broke, since she's in Vegas for her sister's bachelorette party (or hen party as they call it here) also in May. I really really don't want to "waste" that weekend, but am a bit short on ideas and travel partners, so I need to do some research on flights and destinations. And if I can't find anyone to travel with, I think I'll pick somewhere within the UK.

History in the Making

or history rediscovered...or something. Check it out, really incredible stuff, for all you evolutionists!

Fossil Called Missing Link From Sea to Land Animals

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/06/science/06fossil.html?th&emc=th

Woohoo Thursdays

Thursdays might as well be the start of the weekend, don't you think? You've only got Friday left to get through, you're happy it's Friday, and depending upon your job, it breezes by, and you might even be having fun. I do wish I was still having exercise group a la Roosevelt Hospital, just for the excuse to dance ;) and watch the residents try to play beach ball volleyball in wheelchairs!

Thursdays are pretty exciting now, with House MD at 9pm and Grey's Anatomy at 10! Of course, I have seen all the episodes thus far...House just started here recently, and tonight is the very first episode of Grey's Anatomy being aired over here. So I won't see any new episodes for oh, say maybe a year? I definitely won't stay home if there are better plans afloat to get out on the town, but most nights, given that we only have 5 channels via antenna, there really isn't anything to watch.

Had an interesting experience in my falls education group today. I've taken over Thursday group from my supervisor, and didn't know a lot about individual personalities. I have four ladies, all of whom have their own idiosyncratic mannerisms in seeking and maintaining attention. One of them, we'll call her Violet, just talks and talks and talks, and talks over others, in her eagerness to share her knowledge and stories. Additionally, she can be quite high pitched when excited. Well, today, she was sitting next to a lady (Ivy) who obviously didn't appreciate her constant contributions to the discussion, and I'm sorry to say she became more and more rude. I thought maybe I was mistaken the first two times I heard Ivy suck her teeth in a drawn out tsking sound when Violet began to talk. But it became more and more obvious as Ivy escalated her behavior and began to make comments under her breath, then try to talk over Violet, then try to start a different conversation with me to drag my attention away from what Violet was contributing to the group. Unfortunately, although I think she was unaware at first, I've no doubt Violet was well aware of Ivy's intentions by the end of our group. I will have to make some changes for next week. First of all, these two women will not sit next to each other. And secondly, rather than having a discussion as I prefer, I'll have to make it more of a talk from me, with sort of guided questioning to each member in turn as directed by me to contribute to the topic. Shame really. My Wednesday group is a lovely discussion format.

Additionally, I'm wondering whether I had a little encounter with racism in group today. At the end of the group, one of the members asked where I was from, and somehow or other we moved from there to the fact that I'm living in Leytonstone. "You're living where, dear?" Shocked silence where there had been at least three of the four group members talking, and the facial expressions were priceless. Leytonstone has become a very ethnic area of East London, and for as much as London is an amazing melting pot, you do find that people seem to resent what are increasingly multi national neighborhoods, and will make comments about ethnicities. And I found myself defending my choice of where to live, such as stating that the rent is pretty reasonable. "I'm sure it is, dear." I was taken aback, but they had all started to move out the door, so that was the end of that.

I forgot to mention yesterday, I had a followup visit with a lovely lady who is moving to Cornwall with her son and daughter-in-law, with her son as her main carer now that he's retired. So it was my second and last visit with her, and I wanted to make sure they were practicing safe transfers, that they were managing well together, and to show them the adaptive equipment they should expect to be able to get through OT in Cornwall. On her initial visit, the PT had wanted her to start using a rollator frame (I'm still calling it a rolling walker out of habit, for as much as that confuses people), but she flat out refused because she didn't want people to see her with it, so after much cajoling on the PT's part, this woman went home with a walking stick (yes, I'm still calling that one a cane). This time around, I found out she'd had a fall, so I had a chat with her, and asked her if I could present a different perspective on the frame. I asked her if she would consider using the frame inside at least, as a way of enabling her to everything she wants to do without being limited to where there is furniture she can lean on. She's also experiencing back pain so I talked about the frame promoting good posture. And I had an inspiration in terms of her personality, and told her to think of the frame as a friend who's always with her, supporting her, and she could even give it a name if she wanted to, like Charlie. She agreed, and I raced off to find the PT to get her a frame. We laughed about Charlie the rest of the afternoon, everytime she passed by with the frame, and while I know it will take her some time, and she won't use it outdoors, I think she'll come to realize the frame is a good thing.

And finally, I made homemade lasagna tonight...I had a great time making it, really sort of got into my own little cooking world. Unfortunately, I am used to making my homemade marinara sauce with crushed tomatoes, which I can't find here. So I used chopped tomatoes, and the sauce ended up very runny. Delicious, but very runny. I'm going to need to adapt my recipe somehow. I'm coming up a bit short on ideas, though aside from adding flour which I would rather not do for a red sauce. Any thoughts?

Accents

Went on a home visit today for a patient who as it turns out lives very very close to me (I didn't mention that to her). And toward the end of the visit as I was trying to get myself and the OTA out the door for a meeting at the hospital we were very later for, my patient started talking about how much she liked to listen to me talk. That she loves my accent, and it's so gentle, and so on. Which her niece from Trinidad and my OTA immediately agreed upon and all three proceeded to have a discussion of my accent. It was rather embarrassing first of all, but also I've always wondered how I must sound to others. I've always thought of myself as having no accent, especially since everyone in the music and movie industries no matter what country they are from seem to have the same. I have had this conversation with others, who also think there is such a thing as no accent, and I'm pretty close to it. However, since I've been here, I have been conscious of my accent, for one because I'm prone to picking up accents and am afraid of offending someone (if they thought I was making fun of them) if I start to adapt my pronunciations to British pronunciations, and for two because I keep thinking words that I say must sound so harsh. I don't know why, I just have this impression that my accent is harsh to UK ears. So it was very funny especially to hear my OTA say that she loves to hear me talk, it's such a wonderful accent, so soft.

And for today's vent: this poor woman I visited today has ongoing chronic back pain problems, and we went to her house only to find she sleeps on one of the motorized so-called "orthopedic" beds. Not only is the mattress far too soft, but she sleeps in a V position, having raised the foot and head of the bed. And beyond that, because her feet are swollen, she elevates them even further with three pillows! And even though her niece has told her using this bed in this position is bound to make her back worse, my patient insisted that it was right because the people who had sold her the bed a few years ago told her so!! "Back pain? This is the bed for you!" Bloody salespeople. She may have actually listened today though when two professionals told her it wasn't the right bed for her, and her niece thanked us profusely as we left.

More Britishisms

Whinge = to whine. I hear this one a fair bit around work, people are pretty self-observant when they go off on a rant, and will say something like "I know I'm whinging, but..." I haven't yet been sassy enough to ask "Would you like some cheese with your whine?"

A totty is a sexy girl, while a handsome guy might be called dishy.

Gobsmacked...one of my personal favorites...means absolutely amazed, stunned. I think I just love the sound of it.

Small stuff, big stuff

I am ridiculously excited about my delivery this afternoon from Tesco. It's been rather annoying being limited to what I can carry in my backpack, when I go grocery shopping on my walk home from the hospital. Basically it means I have to stop in at the store almost every other day. I wish I weren't always cooking for one, which can be a bit frustrating, but my roommates and I eat at different times and/or generally don't eat the same things. However, I do love to cook, and find it's a good way to shake off any stress from the day. So I thought of several different meals I'd like to cook, and what staples I should have in my cupboard, plus with the imminent arrival of chocolate chips with my parents, I was thinking homemade chocolate chip cookies and even possibly peanut butter chocolate chip brownies from scratch, yum!- I put a list together and placed an internet order at Tesco. It's the small things in life that are the biggest happiness sometimes I think!

I am also looking forward to the arrival of my USB modem. There's been some drama at the house regarding sharing use of the internet, and I decided I'd rather just buy a second modem, eliminating the need to share the modem back and forth. Evenings are especially popular times for internet, for me personally because I can't make my broadband phonecalls to the US until 10pm or later here, due to the time difference. I sent out an email recently with a local phone number just for me (through Skype), and as of tonight, I should be available at that number every night - assuming I'm home of course!

And finally, my parents are arriving on Sunday! Should be good fun for them being back in England for the first time since they moved back to the US in 2000, and we are all looking forward to our weekend up near York for Easter weekend, which amazingly is only a week and a half away. It's a crying shame Tressa's spring break didn't match up. However, Jo will stand in for her at least one night next week, as she stayed at my parent's house for a weekend on a trip to the US a little over a year ago, and is eager to see them again.

Repetitive Stress Syndrome

Alright people...specifically Viv, Kristy and Midge, because I know you all read this...I need some professional help here. I have a family member- female adult- who's been diagnosed with Repetitive Stress Syndrome of one or both upper extremities (not sure). I've never worked with patients with this diagnosis myself, so I'm a bit rusty, and plan to go home tonight and have a look at my trusty Trombly phys dys textbook. Does anyone have clinical experience with this? If so, any recommendations for PAMs, NSAIDs, splinting?, exercises? Would greatly appreciate any help from you, or anyone you might work with who could make some recommendations. Many thanks!

Strike one...

for yoga at my new gym that is. I'm fairly sore today, since I've thrown myself back into a gym routine, without making much concession for the fact that I haven't done much besides walk for a little over a month now, since I left NJ. Yesterday I decided to give the yoga class at my gym a try since it was listed as an hour and a half time block, which I thought was a good sign. Well, I don't know if it was a different kind of yoga than I'm used to or rather the teacher's choice of disjointed moves put together for a class (I'm thinking it's the latter), but it was very disappointing. I will definitely need to do some looking around for a proper Astanga/flow yoga class or studio. I'll try some of the other classes at the gym, but definitely no more yoga there!

I came home for a bit and watched the annual Oxford v Cambridge boat race on the Thames...Oxford beat Cambridge pretty handily, and I'm not sure it's any coincidence there were two Americans on the Oxford crew, and none on the Cambridge crew ;)

I went round Jo's in the evening because she had invited me for a Sunday roast. It was the first one she'd ever cooked, and I must say it turned out pretty well! She lives in Muswell Hill, which is a very posh area, and I must say I really liked what I saw (I had a 10 minute walk from the tube station to her place). Evidently stars live in the area, such as Hugh Grant. Jo lives in hospital accommodation, and the hospital is very old, but it's set in absolutely gorgeous grounds, and Jo has made her room pretty cozy. There was a lovely wooded area with lots of walking paths, and Jo told me there's a big playing field in the middle, restaurant/cafe, etc.

I'm on my own for the better part of the next two weeks at the day hospital, because my supervisor is a term time OT and so has the next two weeks off (schools are out for Easter holidays). Also the OTA is only in 2 days this week and 2 days next as she's taken some time off to be with her kids. I should actually have work to do!

Why are there so many songs about rainbows?

And what's on the other side? Rainbows are visions, but only illusions, and rainbows have nothing to hide...

I saw an absolutely gorgeous rainbow, arching from the heavens earthward, on the bus back from Stratford shopping center. It's been a sunny, beautiful spring day, but it did rain some in the late afternoon. It left me wishing I could wrap myself up in it, or slide down it, or something. Moments of beauty are sometimes so fleeting and so far. It's hard not to wish those moments would last forever, but then I suppose we wouldn't appreciate them nearly so much as we do.

I had to laugh at myself this morning- I was at the gym, on the treadmill, completely enraptured by a cooking show :) The time flew by, and I know now how to make another very simple, yet delicious Italian meal.

I've had a long conversation with my parents, who are arriving to visit with me a week from tomorrow. They are bringing all kinds of things for me, bless. They'll spend three days in central London, two days closer to me, and we're all headed to Walworth Castle for Easter Weekend, where we will participate in a murder mystery weekend. Oh, and they told me we're all booked for Hawaii, yay!! So in July, I will go home to spend a week at Wissahickon (lakehouse in Vermont, I'm so happy, I thought I'd miss it this year) and a week in Hawaii. It's going to be absolute heaven!

Gerry girl

Today is my cat Gerry's birthday. Or at least, what I decided her birthday would be, given what her estimated age was when I adopted her from the shelter as a kitten. She is 7 years old, which I guess is middle age in cat years. Awww, my baby's all grown up. How I wish she could be with me, but given how traumatized she is by a 10 minute drive to the vets (lets just say there is always one or more messes to clean up), there's no way she could cross the ocean on a plane! I do miss her terribly, but luckily she's not prone to holding grudges as my Jackie was, so I know Gerry will be happy to see me next time I'm home :) There's a thumbnail picture of her at the bottom of my Flickr filmstrip on the right sidebar of this blog. Cutie! And just so you all know and we're all clear on the matter, black cats are good luck.

Happy first day of April to everyone-- if anyone has pulled off an April Fools joke, let me know, I don't think I've done that in years. Fill me in so I can live vicariously! I'm off to the gym for now.

There's luck, and then there's luck

It's been pretty busy the past two days, at work actually, but also in the evenings. I've had a bit of a theatre week, which has been fantastic. I wrote in an earlier entry that I had bought tickets for Whistle Down the Wind for 6 pounds a ticket. Jo and I went to see that last night after catching up over dinner, and while the musical is not one of Andrew Lloyd Webber's best works, it was still a great show. I have never seen the old black and white movie with Hallie Mills, but I'm told it's very different, just from the fact that the musical is set in the American bible-belt south, but the movie was set in England. The music was somewhat typical ALW, with hints of Phantom here and there, and with big rock crescendos. There were probably 30 kids in the show, who were absolutely adorable. It was a bit disconcerting how evidently everyone was supposed to be speaking with an "American" accent, but some of them just kept slipping back into more of a British accent, and some of them were speaking with what they must have thought was a good American accent but just was off somehow. One of the characters' names was Amos, and the cast had evidently all been directed to say it with the pronunciation of "a-MOSS" heavy accent on the second syllable. I know I'm picking things apart at the moment, but it was still an enjoyable show.

The previous night, Wednesday, I went to see Arthur Miller's The Crucible after receiving an email that morning that tickets were available for 5 pounds for that night's show. My roommate Nicole decided to join me at the end of the day, so we went home for a quick dinner and then off to the West End. Again there was a bit of a problem with the accents, but overall, it was a gripping performance. It's an excellent show, not that I expected any less from an Arthur Miller play. You really understand how it is that hysteria may have spread, and people were actually accused by young girls, tried and hung for being witches on "solid evidence." It's pretty scary actually, given repeats throughout our history, such as Joe McCarthy's communism witch hunt. Nicole didn't realize it was a play rather than a musical until we were on our way and I was telling her a bit about the Salem witch trials, at which point she laughed and said she'd probably fall asleep since it wasn't a musical. However, I'm happy to report she was as wrapped up in the show as the rest of the audience.

Wednesday afternoon we had our OT basic grades meeting...all the basic grades go out to lunch together and then spend the rest of the afternoon in continuing development topics of our own choice. This week we went over to wheelchair services where Nicole has been on rotation, and had a look at all different kinds of wheelchairs, had a bit of a wheelchair race ourselves, and then learned how to properly assess for a standard wheelchair. Fortuitous timing since yesterday afternoon one of the physios came to me and asked me to assess one of his patients for a wheelchair. Having just completed the training, I'm confident I can take good measurements.

As to luck, I'm thinking I'm going to have a really good weekend and week next week. And I'm not talking about having today off from work. I met Jo last night on Tottenham Court Road and took off my backpack to grab my wallet. I discovered that not only had I been lucky enough to have a bird poop on me (they say it's lucky, though I can't remember who they is), but I was also lucky enough to have it poop on my backpack rather than actually on me. So I think that's doubly lucky, don't you? ;)

PayDay!

I checked my HSBC bank account this morning on the internet, and I have indeed been paid, and my account indeed is open! Hallelujah! However, as I have yet to receive the PIN for my debit card that they promised to mail under separate cover, I have no access to my British funds!! There is nothing to do at this point but laugh. It's a comedy of errors and non-existent customer service. I have Friday off, so I will have to once again journey to the bank, where they will probably tell me, oh sure, we'll issue that to you, it will arrive by mail within 7 working days. Arrrgghhh.

Had an email from my friend Nicole yesterday (Tufts Nicole, not roommate Nicole) who is hoping to arrive here in 2 weeks or so, though it depends on the arrival of her work permit which she needs to get her entry clearance visa. She told me her boyfriend has found them a flat, and is in the process of buying them a used mini Cooper-- she wrote to me, just wait till I start driving you around in that thing! I'm a bit nervous about that statement ;) J/K

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