Happy Halloween!

Alright, so another two weeks went by even though I said I wasn't going to wait so long to post again. What can I say, I've been busy. And my schedule wipes me out by the end of the week. So here goes...


Last weekend, Jeff and I headed up to Monterey for our anniversary trip from July. Our first stop was the aquarium, which is always a lot of fun. They have a special exhibit on seahorses right now. Some of them were pretty funky looking! My favorite is always the otters, and even though I know they can be really mean, those cute little faces get me every time! And yes, we even went through all the little kid sections too. How can you not feel like a kid at the aquarium!





After we were finished there, we walked around Cannery Row for a while before checking into our hotel. Our hotel ended up being only 2 blocks from Fisherman's Wharf, so we headed over there for dinner and had some delicious seafood...well I did anyway. We didn't stay up late...in fact, I apparently was out cold and snoring by 9:30. The next day we slept in (I believe I got 11 hours of sleep), enjoyed our complimentary breakfast, and then headed back to Fisherman's Wharf for lunch before heading out of town.


We decided to take the long way home along Highway 1. The water was absolutely gorgeous, with beautiful shades of turquoise blue. Even though it took us about an hour and a half longer, I'm glad we went that way. We stopped to see the elephant seals too. None of the big (ugly) males were there, but there quite a few juveniles who were in no rush to move further south. I wouldn't mind be lazy and laying out on the beach all warm and toasty in the sun. Sounds pretty nice to me. Although, I'll pass on being chased by killer whales and great white sharks! All in all, it was a terrific weekend and a fun getaway, and I'm glad we finally got to do it.




My rotation has been going well. I can't believe I've already finished 3 weeks. I've been taking more and more patients on by myself, and this next Thursday and Friday I'll have my own schedule while my CI will be out of town. I'm really enjoying this rotation (I was pretty sure I would), and I know I'm learning a lot and having to challenge myself...which is always good, although it sure does use a lot of my energy.

For Halloween, we've carved our pumpkins and bought candy, although we're not expecting any trick-or-treaters. We dressed up on Friday at work, with most of the staff dressing up as different color crayons. They even made a giant crayon box to pose with. Very cute. I bought a $5 trick or treat shirt from Target, and made a sign at work that said "Starving Student: Will give joint mobilizations for food."

In other news, my good friend Jocelyn and her husband Shaun just found out that they are expecting another baby. Congrats Wharton family! Abby will make a terrific big sister!

That about wraps things up. Don't forget to change your clocks tonight. Woohoo for an extra hour of sleep! Hope you have a fun and safe Halloween. Can't wait to see pictures of everyone's costumes!

The SLO life, and much more...

I am officially moved up to SLO and am living the grand SLO life. I moved up 2 weeks ago (sorry for the delay), and had a few days to run errands, unpack, and get used to living in the area again. I had forgotten about the onramp/offramp situation, which for any of you who have visited up here know what I'm talking about. It didn't take me long to get used to it again though.

The first weekend up here we went to Oktoberfest at the Old Vienna Restaurant in Pismo. I recognized a lot of songs from all the Oktoberfests I attended as a kid. They had this awesome polka band of 3 older guys called Trio Internationale that played traditional polkas, as well as covers of such songs as "White Wedding", "Shout", "Lowrider", and "You've Gotta Fight For Your Right...To Polka!" You can check out their myspace page here. I've gotta say they kept the dance floor packed all night. They definitely were the highlight of the night.




Then I started up my 2nd 8-week rotation at San Luis Sports Therapy. My commute is now only 30 minutes, with guaranteed no traffic. Sweet! My schedule is less than ideal, working 10.5 hours on Mon/Wed/Fri and 5.5 hours on Tues/Thurs, but the half days sure are nice!. My CI used to work with professional athletes in the Chicago area, and definitely has a lot of things to teach me. I have homework almost every night, which I'm not a fan of, but I know it's only making me a more well-rounded therapist. I can tell I'm going to gain a lot from this rotation, and should soon have my own schedule of patients. 1 week down already!

This past weekend my mom came up to look at a couple wedding locations and attend the Central Coast Bridal Fair/Expo. We visited two sites: Santa Margarita Ranch and Spanish Oaks Ranch, both in Santa Margarita. I had high hopes and good feelings about these two, so my fingers were definitely crossed on our way out to see them. I've been in contact with these two locations for quite some time now. Spanish Oaks ended up being a lot smaller than it appeared online (again, pictures are deceiving), and wasn't quite what we wanted despite being beautiful.

Santa Margarita Ranch (SMR) on the other hand was amazing! I really can't describe this place in its entirety, because you really just have to see it yourself. The ranch was a resting place between missions way back in the day, as well as a stop for the Wells Fargo Stagecoach. The barn (which can fit up to 300 guests) has the original stone walls inside, and has been built up/around it. There's an old movie theater sign, windmill, wishing well, oh yes...and a railroad...with old train cars from Disneyland! There's a gorgeous garden area to have the ceremony in, with a giant oak tree. SMR is actually a working cattle ranch and vineyard too. I really didn't think Jeff was going to like it because I'll admit, it's pretty darn country. But he actually said he liked it! Woohoo! The layout, history, and natural beauty of it all is sure going to be hard to beat, and to be honest, I'm not sure I really want to look at any other places. Now we just have to figure out if we can afford it. Ah, the life of budgets! My mom took pictures, but an old friend from dance, who now happens to be a photographer in the area (that we ran into at the bridal fair), recently shot a wedding there, which you can see the photos here: Chloe : Mike Larson Photography, Inc: Home on the Range: Andrew & Sara to give you a better idea of what it's like.

At the bridal fair/expo there were over 120 local vendors including DJ's, coordinators, locations, bakeries, caterers, photographers, florists, etc. A little overwhelming, but very nice to have it all in one spot. I found a DJ that I like a lot (in fact, after 2 other ones I stopped talking to the other DJ's because none of them seemed to compare...plus other photographers and caterers raved about him. SOLD!), a bakery with amazing cake (yes, there were some with not-so-amazing cake, which I think is a crime), and a florist who stood out from the rest. As far as caterers and photographers, well I'm just not going to worry about that yet. Too many options that I'll slowly have to filter through.

We also went to the pumpkin patch at the Avila Valley Barn, which is full of tractor rides, animals, home-made ice cream and pies, a hay maze, and produce (most of which you can pick yourself during the year). Jeff and I both said how much fun it would be to take Grady here. All the kids (big or small) love it! It was way too crowded when we went on Saturday, so we went back on Sunday morning when there were much fewer people. It's a popular place this time of year!


Alright, I should probably wrap this up. Lots to talk about. This should teach me not to wait so long to post next time. And the reason this is being written in the middle of the day is because I'm home from work with a cold. It's been a battle against a sore throat, stuffy/runny nose, and cough and I didn't really want to get the patients and co-workers sick. I'll go in tomorrow no matter what, but this morning when I still couldn't breathe and felt like my head was in a fog, I decided it was best that I stay home. Back to resting up, studying, and doing laundry...

Rotation #1...check!

Number of miles put on my car: 4800
Longest commute: 1 hour, 47 minutes
Shortest commute: 45 minutes
Number of Armenian phrases learned: 10
Number of pounds lost: 8.5
Number of times I passed out: 0
Number of days left: 0

It's official...I finished my first rotation! I can't believe how quickly it flew past, but I am very happy to be finished. I gained a lot of experience these past 8 weeks, building up my confidence and perfecting my skills. I will not miss the commute or waking up at the buttcrack of dawn. I don't think I've ever worked so hard physically, at least not in a while. The proof is in the weight loss up there. Hello jumpstart to the wedding diet! I can now count in Armenian (well, to 4 anyway), as well as some other phrases. Of all the languages in the world, I would not have picked Armenian to be the next one I'd be learning. On the last day, my CI brought in bagels, cream cheese and OJ and made me a good luck sign. It was a very weird day, with 6 patients either refusing treatment or not being able to be seen for one reason or another. It was surreal driving home, knowing that I wouldn't be driving back there on Monday morning. Surreal, but very satisfying. :) Now all that's left for me to do is turn in my paperwork, which I'll be dropping off at school on Monday.

This week I'll be moving up to SLO, which has served as motivation these past 8 weeks. I knew that once I got through this rotation, I'd get to be with Jeff for 3 months. If that's not motivation, I don't know what is! Now it's time to pack my stuff up again (didn't I just do this?!) and prepare to freeze my butt off. I know, I'm a wimp. But after living in triple digit weather for half the year, I am not used to the cool weather. I know I'll get used to it, but there will be lots of layers on me until then!

Yesterday my mom and I went to my friend Jocelyn's daughter's 1st birthday party. You may remember me talking about little Miss Abby. I'm her "auntie", and love spending time with the cutie pie. She will be the second flower girl in the wedding, accompanying Miss Sofia down the aisle (and Grady too!). She didn't really know what to do with the cake, and just picked at it and stared at everyone, wondering why all of a sudden watching her eat was so interesting. And she was more interested in the cards and tissue paper than the gifts themselves. Very cute, and I'm so happy I was actually in town for the celebration! Happy birthday Abby!

33 days down, 7 to go...

Hard to believe, but I only have a week and a half left of this rotation! CRAZY! Oh how time flies when you're working your butt off...and maybe having an ounce of fun every now and then. I will be giving an inservice (not by choice) next week on deep vein thrombosis, or DVT's, with the most current research and evidence. Now doesn't that just grab your attention. I'll be glad when it's over, and have been very slowly working on it in my pathetic attempt to avoid giving all together. It's not working...

Jeff came down last weekend, which was wonderful, as always. We didn't do much, in our typical fashion. But what we did do is watch some football on my parents' brand new 40 inch HD LCD! Although, it seems to be defective because both USC and the Chargers lost. They weren't losing on the old tv, so this is clearly the only explanation. It was a sad weekend in football for us, but we saw every drop of sweat being shed in their valiant efforts, and in HD no less!

I had missed watching football with Jeff. Him making fun of me yelling at the players for being stupid, or to run faster, or to throw the ball, or to watch out because they're about to get hit. Him laughing some more at me when I sing along with the Chargers song and dance around. And then me falling in and out of sleep during all non-USC or Chargers games, usually smooshing Jeff to death in my attempt to get every minute of snuggle-time in, only to be bolted awake when he would yell at the tv because of a bad call (or a good one for that matter). Good times. But really, this has been one of the things I have missed the most about being with Jeff. Being the bums that we are, watching football all weekend long, together, on the couch. Just being together. Pure bliss.

The weekend before that we were at a family friend's wedding in Somis at Hartley Botanica. I've grown up with this family since elementary school, and did dance with the bride for all those years. My mom is the one with all the pictures, so I will post some once I steal them from her. A beautiful wedding that was a lot of fun...there was a photo booth and candy station! Here's a pic of me and another family friend (we're sad b/c our sisters aren't there).

Congrats again Triona and Ryan! Hope you had a terrific time on your honeymoon!

That about wraps things up. I guess I should work some more on that inservice of mine. My next post will probably be after I'm finished with this rotation. Can't wait!

Too good to be true...

Well I jinxed it...yesterday it took me an hour and 40 minutes to get to work on my new "faster" route. SO not worth it! It's back to the out of the way, traffic-avoiding route. I knew it was too good to last!

I also forgot to mention that I got a Save the Date for my friend Kristin's wedding. I am super excited for her and Andrew. They were a big part of my Cal Poly days, and I've missed them since they moved to Washington. She and I lived on the same floor in the dorms at Cal Poly and then were roommates for the other 3 years. The wedding will be in April and would you believe it...in SLO! Maybe I'll get referrals from her! And the wedding wheels are turning...

Happy September?

Don't know about anyone else, but I can't believe it's September! Where did August go? Hmm...

Today we had a patient code on us right as we were going in to see him in the ICU. What does "code" mean? Simply put, his heart stopped working and he wasn't breathing. When this happens they page a "Code Blue" over the intercom and the nurses and doctors jump into action while we PT's try to stay out of the way. Think of all the TV and movie scenes with lots of people crammed around the patient and the horrible sound of a flatline (beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep), paddles out, yelling "CLEAR!". This is then followed by the pause where everyone holds their breath and hopes for the little blip on the screen that is a heartbeat. Fortunately, this man made it through, but now is in even worse condition than before. He has been in the hospital for well over the month and I have been working with him since the beginning of my rotation.

While all this was going on my heart was racing and I almost started crying because it seemed so surreal to be seeing this in live action instead of on the big screen. All I know is that someone was looking out for us, because the only reason we hadn't started treatment yet was because we were waiting to hear back from his nurse. Then we would have been blamed and possibly held accountable for what took place. Needless to say, we won't be treating him for a while.

This labor day weekend was spent at home, being a lazy bum and resting up. This rotation is hard work! I went shopping with my mom on Saturday and helped her spend her gift cards. I could get used to this! Thanks Mom! My dad and I saw "Julie & Julia" on Sunday, which was very cute and made me wish my blog was a little more interesting like the one in the movie. Sorry I don't have any pictures to put on here right now to spice things up. If you want cute pictures, you can pick from the many links on the left of this page (cute kids can be found on Jocelyn's, Melissa's, Betty's, and the Krills' blogs). I also caught up on laundry, finished my midterm review paperwork, and spent a lot of time researching for my inservice that I'll have to give in 3 weeks. Not a whole lot of excitement, but I think it's what I needed.

I've started getting brave and taking the 101-134-5 route to work (*gasp*). This all started when I had to leave extra early and via a different route due to multiple road closures surrounding the hospital for Michael Jackson's burial last week. A whole big to-do that inconvenienced a whole lot of people. Anyway, after encountering ZERO traffic that morning, I decided to give it another try, and again...no traffic. So this is my new route, which of course got jinxed this morning and I hit terrible traffic because of the water line breaking and resulting sink holes and road closures. I'll keep giving it a shot unless it gets worse.

Hope you all had a fun 3-day weekend and everyone is in good health. Hopefully tomorrow won't be as exciting as today...

Onto week 4...

I didn't realize how long it had been since I had written on here...my apologies! Although, strangely I find that I have less to talk about now that I'm not in class. Weird. Maybe it's the whole patient confidentiality thing.

Things have been going relatively well during my rotation thus far. I think I am starting to adjust to the fast pace of the hospital and getting more comfortable with working hands-on with patients. There have definitely been ups and downs, and every day is completely different. My CI and I have slight personality conflicts that I'm trying to work out. Things are getting better, but there are still some issues that have yet to be resolved. Thank goodness for the perma-grin! I've been most amazed by the fact that I am a minority at this hospital. 75-80% of the patients I see do not speak English. The majority speak Armenian, followed by Spanish. Yes, I am learning Armenian. I'm also quickly refreshing my Spanish from high school. The patients seem to find it funny that I'm even attempting to speak their language and laugh at me, but somehow I have to get through to them...no matter how terrible I sound!

Most memorable moments thus far (good and bad):
-Projectile neon green vomit (think exorcism)
-Wiping patients' butts because nursing is too busy (it's no fun for either party involved)
-Getting peed on
-VIP patient...sorry, I can't tell you who it was!
-Having lunch with the CEO of the hospital

Things I like:
-There's never a dull moment
-Every day is different
-I see a wide variety of patients...ortho, neuro, cardiac, you name it!
-Some of the other PT's there are awesome and have taken me under their wing
-Getting gifts from patients (baked goods, lotions, etc.)
-Being out of the classroom and putting my hard-earned (and expensive) knowledge to good use
-FREE TIME! I actually get to come home and do nothing, and I couldn't be happier. Plus, I have a weekend now that is actually a weekend and not non-stop studying. This means shopping, movie-going, wedding planning, baking...things that make me happy! :)

Things I'm not so fond of:
-The commute! I can think of a lot of things I would rather do with those 2 hours each day I spend in the car
-I only see patients for a few days and then they're gone
-The stress of having every thing I do being graded
-The constant feeling of being behind and having to play catch-up all day
-Being on my feet, climbing up and down flights of stairs, lifting 300+ pound patients...I am exhausted by the end of the week!
-Bodily fluids...enough said.

So other than working like the rest of the normal population, I've been enjoying my free time. It's been bloody hot and smoky from all the fires. It's really gross at the hospital. You can't even see the hills anymore. Hope everyone is doing ok and haven't melted yet. I'm going to go back downstairs where it's cooler. Can't believe I'm almost half-way through this rotation already! Then I'll be moving up to SLO...WOOHOO!