Time Crunch

Busy Busy Busy the past few weeks...

So I was in the grad lounge the other day and this girl in my program, who is very nice, made a very not so nice comment. There were a bunch of us talking about our stress level as this is midterms and we are all a little loopy. I had made the comment that I felt stressed about getting a paper turned in while studying for a HUGE neuroanatomy exam this week. She responded along the lines of "remind me why you have something to be stressed about (since you don't have any clients)?"...

Needless to say I had to fight the urge to drop kick her booty to the other side of the Boston Common. Yes, there are people with clients this semester. Yes, they have a lot of planning to do and they have 5 hours a week in the clinic. BUT she neglected to count the fact that I work 20-25 hours a week (she doesn't) and I also have to complete 25 observation hours in the clinic (she doesn't) and I am taking a 5th class to fill an additional ASHA requirement (she didn't sign up yet).

In my state of "five-year-old tantrum", I decided to do some calculations of how I spend my time these days.

Here is my laundry list of obligations over the past two weeks:

-Four Emerson classes (3 hours of class time plus roughly 3 hours outside of class per week)

-UWRF class online (3-6 hours per week... if I actually tried harder)

-Extra Neuroanatomy study time (3 hours per week)

-Thesis work (2-4 hours per week)

-Clinic time (4-6 hours per week)

-Health Communication class I am sitting in on for my thesis (4 hours per week)

-Riding the T to and from downtown (45 minutes each way-around 8 hours a week)

-Work (20-25 hours per week)

-Walking to work (half hour each way- around 5 hours each week)

Throw in sleep time, eating, showering, biological functions and any random task along the way.... I did the math and I would end up with about 3 hours a day that isn't scheduled for something. Oh how I wish those 3 hours would come all in one block and not in random 5 minute snippets throughout the day.

I feel better now, I have good reason to be stressed during midterms.

Hmmmmm....

A few random thoughts and wonderings since living in Boston...

1) I haven't driven a car in months... I wonder if I forgot how... I wasn't that good at it to begin with.

2) If you are at a four way intersection and all signs say walk, it really is okay to walk diagonally through the intersection, right?

3) It is a good thing that Boston PD doesn't give out jaywalking tickets because I could probably pay for another year of college with the amount they could be charging me.

4) I can't ride the T facing the wrong direction- it makes my head hurt.

5) Express trains are a blessing and a curse. They are a blessing when you are on your way to school and don't want to stop every other block. They are a curse when you are on your way to work and you get there 20 minutes early.

6) Forget the pastry selection at Mike's Pastry... the half chocolate dipped sugar cookies are WAY better.

7) Tremont (the street where I attend class- in the same building and the same classroom all week long) is a wind tunnel. It doesn't matter how little wind there is everywhere else downtown, it is like a huge fan is situated at the top of the street.

8) Despite my beautiful dreams of leaving the building to go sit in the common between classes, I only have a 15 minute break and I spend it studying my buns off for my weekly neuro quizzes.

9) While I enjoy children and really want to make a difference in the public school system, I want to focus my private practice work on adult conversation groups.

10) I am soooooooooooooooooo glad I did not go to Boston University. SHEESH those kids are nutty.

11) The best present ever: space heater.

12) The reason it is the best present ever: "heat included" leaves out the fact that it isn't always available when ones California blood is freezing.

13) Friday afternoons with the people in my program keep us sane, without them I think we would all be in tears. Even the boys.

14) When you sign up for a two year program that they call "intensive"... they aren't lying.

15) I now can watch Grey's Anatomy and other doctor shows and not only do I recognize all the terms they are using when McDreamy is neuro-surgery-ing but I can also explain to you why he is doing what he is doing.

16) I learned that Meningitis is actually an infection of the Meninges which surround the brain and spinal cord... that is why people freak out... it is a big deal!

17) I can go a full month without setting foot in a "grocery store". Trader Joe's is all I need. I haven't yet decided what I classify it as...

18) Now that I am finally old enough to have cheaper car insurance... I don't even have car insurance.

19) The Ashleys solution to sleep problems? Rearrange all the furniture in your room. We both have done it at least once since moving in.

20) Red Sox games are better watched in Boston bars... it just isn't the same elsewhere.

Back to school...

I blame my lack of updates on the fact that school has started again and I have been studying VERY hard for my classes! I think it is the combination of going back to school for something completely new and going to school full time that has me motivated to get the best possible grades. So far, so good. My neuroanatomy class has me studying like never before- but my 100% score on my first test has me motivated to keep up the studying.

In between classes and studying I have been getting used to the weather change and the actual fall weather we have out here. It is nice to have seasons! (At least for now- no snow yet.)

Short post tonight- the head cold has me a little wonky still.

What a slacker!

WOW! I can't believe I haven't updated in nearly a month! Sorry! My promise of once a week has already fallen apart.

So many great things have been happening in the past few weeks. I have been to two Red Sox games, the Saint Anthony's feast Italian festival, Emerson Orientation, and have gone out with a bunch of the new friends I have met out here.

The weather has been great with a few rainy days so I have had no problem getting out and roaming around the city. As I am settling in and getting more comfortable, the lazy days of getting acclimated to my new surroundings have subsided. It is funny to see the people who moved in at the beginning of September go through the same process as I did.

The end of last week and this weekend have been exhausting! I am ready for a very long nap this evening. Thursday was spent at Emerson listening to faculty speak about our new adventure and the expectations they have for us. We thought it would be appropriate to end that day with some very grad student-like behavior by all meeting up at the local dive bar for drinks.

Friday I met the second year students and faculty for desert in the CD building before heading to the game at Fenway. We got their in time for batting practice to find that the field had been covered due to the rain. We spotted David Ortiz in the dugout so we stayed put and attempted to tell him Ashley was from Wisconsin (where his wife is from) any way possible- in hopes of getting an autograph.

While we waited we signed our names to the top of the dugout. Two an a half hours from the scheduled start of the game, they decided the rain wasn't going to stop and rescheduled the game for Sunday. The best part of the delay was watching a video of the Red Sox players dressed up in wigs and Milli Vanilli outfits singing the song "Blame it on the Rain". Two days of Fenway fun for the price of one!

Saturday we were moving slowly but we went out to the Sam Adams Octoberfest celebration at the Park Plaza Castle. Picture a giant room filled with happy people and beer with German music playing by German old men who dressed the part. Ashley and I got dressed up in authentic German woman gear (blond braids included) and took a picture in front of a scenic background- it now is housed on our fridge. We spent the afternoon meeting new people and playing Flip Cup- I am going to skip the description of the game knowing who some of my readers are. I am a good kid, I promise. :)

Sunday morning rolled around and we were headed to Fenway again. This time for a sunny afternoon game with great weather. We didn't see much action until about the 6th inning when the game got very exciting. We got to sing and celebrate another win for the Sox.

Which brings me to the present time where I am in my sweats sitting on my couch watching the second game of the double header (the one that was originally scheduled for today) and packing up my materials for school tomorrow. My backpack is ready, my clinic bag is packed, and I am just about to read the chapters I need to comb through for class tomorrow- let's see if I can get it done without falling asleep in my book!

Explorations

This past week has been a mixture of laziness and explorations throughout the city. I think the mixture of a 3,007 mile move, the heat, being without my network of friends, and just the general stresses that follow those things has slightly overwhelmed me a bit. I haven't yet gotten on a regular sleep pattern and I am still adjusting to the time differences- I am able to operate on the east coast schedule but my body doesn't fully follow my mind in my new schedule. As a result, I am often found chatting with my friends online with fans pointed on me to escape the crazy heat- I am getting better about doing more exploring though.

I have put up a few of the pictures I have taken while around the city. The first is the view of some of the Emerson buildings from downtown, the second was taken at the top of the Common near Park Street Church, and the last is a building I found while walking through the Harvard Yard.

I have dropped off about 7 applications to different places, gyms and retail locations. I don't want to work more hours than I can handle while juggling school and clinic, but I want to have a little play money while I am here.

I have been carrying my Boston book around town and crossing off landmarks as I visit them. I have made quite a dent in the short time that I have been moving around the city. (I feel like I have spent more time in the apartment than in the city... which at this point I probably have.) Since being here I have made it to a few new places and a few that I tend to frequent when I have visited in the past. Here is my laundry list thus far: Faneuil Hall, Quincy Market, Long Wharf, Copley Place, Copley Square, the Westin Hotel, Boston Public Library, Tufts University, Harvard University, the Harvard Yard, Boston Common, Arlington Park, Charles Street, Emerson College, China Town, Downtown Crossing, Granary Burial Ground, Government Center, Coolidge Corner, Brighton Center, and the west end of Newbury Street.

When I get it all down on paper I don't feel so bad about the time I have spent being a vegetable. Truth be told, in about two weeks when school starts I am going to be longing for that time! Still what I have seen and/or been back to again is still just a fraction of what the city has to offer.

In reading the random things that pop up on Yahoo when I sign in to my email, Boston was on the list of the 10 best places to grow up because it is one of the safest big cities in the country. Just thought I would share. :)

Finally here!

Well, it sure has been awhile! I am finally here and I have functioning internet now- a nice change from trying to grab internet from the closest wireless line I could pick up...

I left the heat of Sacramento on Wednesday for what I thought was going to be the cool weather of Boston. Not so much. It has been 85+ everyday that I have been here with at least 50% humidity. Not the California heat I am used to at all.

The first two days were spent shopping for everything I thought I may need and a few "wants" that I determined were "needs" instead. Whoever said that Boston drivers were crazy has never driven in L.A. While it wasn't the easiest thing I have ever done, it was no big deal. After trips to Ikea, Kmart, Target, Kohl's, Target (again), CVS, the Star Mart, and Trader Joe's, I now have a nicely stocked apartment. Thank you to all of you who have provided me with gift cards to the aforementioned locations over the past year- they came in very handy this week!

This morning I got to trade in the air mattress for the real bed. I am so thankful that it was delivered so quickly. My room is now complete and I feel like I can relax! Sitting back and looking at what I put together, I am surprised at how feminine it turned out to be. This tomboy created a very purple living space!

Ashley and I went to Constitution Beach (yes, everything is historically named- I plan on hitting up Revere Beach next!) today just north of Logan Airport to try to escape the heat for a few hours. We enjoyed the breeze and watched planes take off for about four hours. The time went by faster than either of us could have imagined. At one point they cleared the water and the life guards went diving in to the water to grab something. We watched

intently hoping it was not a child and laughed when we saw them push up a life guard tower that had been washed into the water by the high tide. Ashley got a kick out of the 5 men who attempted to drag it out of the water- Boston boys don't have the skills of Wisconsin boys.

Now sitting at home with the fan pointed in my direction I am planning on a great night of sleep tonight. The next weeks will be spent searching- job search, class search, city search... there is much fun to be had. Hopefully the weather will come down just a little- I am not used to this sticky feeling!

A few minor changes...

The old blog layout was just too squishy for me... I felt cramped. Going into the fall/winter months, gray seemed quite appropriate for a Boston Blog and it seems easier to read too... how is the font size Grandma? :)

No new news on the Boston front; the apartment is officially ours, so now I have to start planning the purchases of the major things (bed, dresser, etc) so they can be delivered when I get there. But first, I have to survive the next four weeks of summer school without spontaneously combusting. Teaching summer school, tutoring 8 hours a week, and taking 4 classes has got me a little loopy lately... but then again, when have I ever slowed down in the past few years... loopy is status quo around here.

We have a place!

We have a FABULOUS place! We are a second floor, front facing unit and we don't share any walls due to the front door/hallway. Technically the back of our stove/fridge shares a wall with our neighbors but I doubt we will hear anything. It just got repainted and the floors were just redone. My only complaints are the TINY closets and the SUPER OLD bathroom- but what do you expect from these old buildings. Of course heat and hot water are included... there is no way we are paying to stay warm all winter! Another perk... we have roof access! YAY!

Here are some pictures! (The view of the entire building, our place, and a picture of how close the T stop is... check the right corner of the picture)

The other awesome part: the rent is 40 dollars less than what I am paying now including my utilities- so by the time we pay for cable, it will be the same cost of living minus a car payment, insurance, gas... la dee da la dee da la dee da (happy song)

Correct Spelling Optional

As most of you know, I am no spelling bee champion. I blame it on the whole language approach that was popular during my elementary school years- we all know that phonics based instruction creates better spellers. (That is common knowledge right? haha...)

At this blog, we have an open air of acceptance to all types of people including inappropriate spellers; because everyone knows that inappropriate spellers are awesoem! (that was on purpose.)

And so it begins...

Although I have not technically moved yet, I suppose this trip is the start of my adventures. After arriving in the wee hours of the morning and navigating my way through the T lines out to Brookline, I find myself in a Bruegger's Bagels people watching in the rain. It is funny to me the difference in "acceptable attire" for the weather in different parts of the country. Apparently, shorts and t-shirts are appropriate in 65 degree rainy weather as long as you have an umbrella with you.

Today's mission: find an apartment.