Random Sunday Thoughts

Not too much has happened lately. I mean it was a busy week with Christmas and all the snow that covered the Midwest, but not too much has happened. Christmas Eve my immediate family opened presents and watched some movies. Christmas Day we braved the roads and made it to my grandparents' house and back. The roads weren't the best, but were passable at lower speeds. I was so glad we were able to make it and have fun with the family :)

Other news: you probably noticed I changed the background and my header. What do you think? I combined a background from Hot Bliggity Blog and a header from TCBOTB and so far I like it.

Home

I made it safely to my parents' house yesterday after some fun driving through a mini-snow storm. I haven't done anything exciting, but did get to the local coffeehouse for coffee (of course!) and lunch with my mom. Tonight I'm just chilling and hoping and praying that the weather is okay for Christmas Day. It's not supposed to be good here with little or no visibility due to blowing snow.

Christmas Day is ALWAYS spent with my dad's parents, Papa Don and Grandma Carolyn, with all my aunts, uncles, cousins, and cousins' kiddos. It's so much fun as we pass the Boone's Farm and catch up on the year. Some of my family, mostly just my cousins, I only get to see at Christmas. I hope if we can't travel on Friday, then we can re-schedule and still find time to get together.

Peace and blessings for you and yours this holiday season!

School update

I'M DONE WITH FALL SEMESTER :) I finished all the graded projects/tests/homework this morning and am now officially down with the semester. This means I have one (1!) semester of coursework left in Madison and then a year long externship where I'm basically working as an unpaid and unlicensed audiologist.

Externship update:
I HAVE A SECOND INTERVIEW! At the beginning of Nov I interviewed with a small private-practice in Marshall, MN. I thought the interview went okay, but didn't hear from them for a long time. Earlier this week I got a call from the owner asking if I were still interested. On Monday we're going to talk some more and schedule a time for me to interview and visit the clinic.

Also two more resumes and cover letters went out: 1 to Franciscan Skemp Hospital in LaCrosse, WI and 1 to Physician's Choice Clinics in Cedar Rapids, IA.

If this doesn't result in an externship, I'm joining the Army (SERIOUSLY) and being an audiologist there.

The most wonderful time of the year...

I LOVE CHRISTMAS! I don't know exactly why, but I think it has to do with hope and looking back on the significance of the birth of Jesus. Yes I know he wasn't born on Dec 25, but we still get the chance to celebrate what a great gift-giver God truly is. What's really interesting is that the rest of my immediate family doesn't like Christmas, specifically my mom. While I'm listening to Christmas music or watching Christmas movies (Elf, A Christmas Story, Home Alone, Rudolph, etc), my mom especially rools her eyes. I don't judge those that don't like Christmas, but please don't rain on my parade and I won't make you watch movies with me or do the little Christmas things that I do.





One of my favorite things about Christmas is gifts. Before you judge I'm not THAT materialistic, but my main love language is gifts. I just feeled loved when I know you spent time and/or money on me. A gift can be a precious as the picture one of my old Sunday School kids gave me or as elaborate as my gifts from Santa. He still visits the Roths house in Humboldt and gives the best gifts! Speaking of gifts, I'm almost done with my shopping and wrapping. I just have my fur-nephew (Missey and Rich's dog, Dierks) left! Here are the wrapped presents I have under my fake ficus tree:

I AM WOMAN

In my last post I mentioned the crazy amounts of snow we were forecasted to get here in Madison. Well we didn't get what was forecasted (8-12 inches), of course, we got MORE :( All in all somewhere from 14-18 inches. Me, being the big girl I am, went and bought a shovel for my car and dug my car out. No whining, complaining, or crying (HUGE FEAT RIGHT THERE!)! Here is a picture to show you how bad my street looked this morning. None of the those cars are mine, but you get the idea.

What everyone in the Midwest is talking about

It's snowing. Madison has been in a blizzard warning for awhile now (by that I mean over 12 hours) and the snow. won't. STOP. Don't get me wrong I love snow, but when it interferes with life and I'm restless already, being snowed in all. by. myself. SUCKS!

Pray that I won't get a case of cabin-fever so early in the winter!

I'm a busy bee

Wow, just realized it's been over a week since I last posted! Here's a quick synopsis of my recently very busy life.

Tuesday, November 24: Clinic til 1pm and then a 5 hour drive home

Wednesday, November 25: SNOW in Iowa, doc appointment/shopping with Mom, then partying with my cousins and getting obsurdly drunk and puking til after 10 am the next day

Thursday, November 26: THANKSGIVING:) Besides spending a lot of time puking and in and out of a car, I had a great Thanksgiving. My family went to my aunt and uncle's new house with her side of the family. I got to see my Papa Don and Grandma Carolyn, whom I dearly love, but don't see often enough!

Friday, November 27: Went shopping with Mom and brother, but not at the butt-crack of dawn.

Saturday, November 28: Thanksgiving/Christmas with my mom's side of the family (aka the cousins I got drunk with a few days earlier), lots of sexual references about vibrators, viagra, etc, but still great

Sunday, November 29: Drove back to WI and spent hours catching up on homework

Monday, November 30: MY BIRTHDAY (we won't say how much) Many of my friends were busy, so I just went out with a few for dinner and then saw Julie & Julia at the cheap seats (IT WAS SO GOOD!). Later went out for a few drinks and great conversation.

Tuesday, December 1: Clinic, then Little Women and Port Wine night. 'Nough said

Today I give not 1, but 2 presentations for class and am still finishing one of them. Needless to say the rest of the week won't be any better. I have to finishing prepping for Family Fusion (dress rehearsal tomorrow night; performance Friday)... I guess I'll sleep when the semester's done in about 10 days!

Audiology on the Brain

I'm an ear-nerd, there's not mistaking that AT ALL. Here are some random moments where audiology seeps back into my brain.

At the local coffee shop (or any coffee shop really) I wonder how loud the grinder is and if barristas are going to be patients in the future because of the noise exposure in coffee shops. I then wonder if I should call OSHA or just bring in a damn sound level meter myself and measure the loudness.

Whenever someone around me has a baby I make sure to ask them about their ears and if the baby was tested for hearing loss (which they should be because of the popularity of Universal Newborn Hearing Screening, but not all states routinely do this).

At concerts, I always wonder who made the in-the-ear monitors for the musicians. Oh and how to get into that part of the business so that I can looks in a famous person's ears; yep I'm that weird.

These is just a sample of my random this-is-my-brain-on-audiology thoughts. I hope you enjoy them and don't judge me too harshly :)

HAPPY WEEKEND!

An exciting Thursday....

leads to a lazy, yet somehow minutely productive Friday.

Yesterday started off great, with clinic and then some Season 3 How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM) action. Next was an awesome new Grey's. Hmmm...the best part of my Thursday was actually happened EARLY Friday. I went to a 12:05 am showing of a little known movie, "New Moon", have you heard of it?

New Moon was my fav of the 4 books and I was very excited to see Taylor Lautner as a very,very buff Jacob (yes, I know he's only 17). Yes, the acting is a bit cheesy, but so was the script, but the movie was amazing! I loved the wolf-pack and the scene with the Voltarri.

I got home from the movie about 3 am and promptly went to bed, because I'm old, or at least close to old. This leads into my lazy Friday. I slept until noon! I can't remember the last time I slept that late. I haven't wanted to do anything today, but went to the DOT and got my license plate renewed and called my car insurance to get them some information. Now I'm back at my place watching Wendy Williams (I <3 this show too, it's just so ridiculous!). Soon I'll be heading to the coffee shop to take some quizzes...ugg school...

The much anticipated Halloween pix

I've had some crappy internet connections and lots of event-filled weekends, so posting hasn't been a priority. I hope y'all enjoy a glimpse of my Halloween fun.

Our Hogwarts looks: Luna Lovegood & Hermoine Granger

I'm so thankful for good friends, even ones that are scared of people.

"I'm Princess Unicorn. My horn can pierce the sky."

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone! I hope that y'all have a safe and busy Halloween Day.
As for me I just got back from the Badger game (37-0) against Purdue and need to warm up before donning my Luna Lovegood costume and heading out for the night. I'll try to post some pics tomorrow :)

A Weighty Issue

I can't lie to myself, I've had weight issues my entire life. I can remember as early as 1st grade feeling fat and not cute. My parents never said anything about my weight, and always told me I was pretty. My classmates always made me feel less than pretty. I was never fat, maybe a bit rounded around the edges, but I felt FAT.

The only time I didn't feel fat was during my freshman year and part of my sophomore year of college. I lost weight instead of gaining it like everyone else. The only thing is I lost it in very unhealthy ways (skipping class to work out multiple times a day, unhealthfully counting calories, only eating once a day). I remember going back to work at camp Summer 2004 and being complimented on the weight I had lost by former staffers and campers. I felt so GOOD and kept up that unhealthy lifestyle.

Then depression hit and the weight came back with a vengence...It just kept creeping up and piling on my small frame. I kept struggling with self-esteem.

Cut to last August (the one in 08), with a doc's urging and my own realization that I was obese by BMI standards I joined a gym. It took me about 2 months to lose 5 pounds, even with a trainer. I went back to the doc and found out my hormones were out of whack (because of the weight) and that was making it almost impossible to lose the weight. I started out some medication to help and then somewhere between 15 and 20 lbs were lost. I felt good again, but this time no one said anything! Only those that knew I was working out said anything.

My weight loss has stabilized somewhere about 20-23 lbs and I feel great. My goal is about another 10-15, but I need to get back on the work-out train.

Another week, more thoughts

Here are some random thoughts I've had lately:

I love riding the bus to school. It's filled with many many interesting people.

I'm recently obsessed with Netflix. I haven't gotten any movies yet, but my queue is rapidly expanding.

I FINALLY got my loan check. I'm super happy to not be destitute and living off of popcorn and spaghetti.

I love, love, love Family Fusion.

Taking it by auricle....uh, ear

I haven't posted about audiology lately or school in general, so I thought I'd let you in on my "professional" life. Let's break it up into a few categories: classes, clinic, capstone, extern year.

Classes
This semester I'm taking Implantable devices, Pathologies II, and Counseling. I don't have a favorite, but counseling doesn't really seem to apply to what I've done thus far as I don't work with kids that have recently been diagnosed with hearing loss or that are going through the process of getting a cochlear implant which seems to be all the prof talks about. Implantables is great and I'm learning alot and then Pathologies is similar to all the other classes with Dr. F except a bit easier.

Clinic
I'm at Sauk Prairie Hospital just north of Madison. I've seen patients aged 2 weeks to 90+ years. Almost all of it is hearing aids, and they're all Siemens brand which is not my fav.

Capstone
My capstone is off to a good start. I'm working with high frequency tympanometry (a test of middle ear function) in kiddos. Haven't started testing anyone yet, but it'll be soon. Just practice with Claire tonight to get a feel for the systems we're using.

Extern
I missed the application deadline for one of the places, but I didn't really want to be there anyway. This weekend (crossing my fingers) I'll be meeting with the director of audiology from the Wolfe Eye Clinic in Iowa. They haven't ever had an extern, but the director is a UW grad which hopefully will help!

I'm not sure what to blog about today, but I wanted to post something. Please enjoy these pictures of my current top 3 celebrity crushes.

Neil Patrick Harris (Doogie Houser, How I Met Your Mother, Dr. Horrible), I wish you didn't play for the other team because you can sing and dance and look great in a suit.

Matthew Morrison (Glee, bunches of Broadway shows). Hmmm....

Lee Pace (Pushing Daisies, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day), I miss Ned and want Pushing Daisies back so that I can see you and your awkwardness around Olive...

Joy

I've been thinking about joy heaps lately. What does joy mean? Dictionary.com defines joy as, "pleasure" or "elatedness". I think that joy is something that defies personal emotion, as you can be depressed or happy but still have joy.

Here are some things that make me experience joy (in no particular order):
God (His love, grace, mercy, mysterious workings)
Family Fusion
Seeing someone's face light up as they hear sounds again for the first time
Receiving texts/calls/emails/letters/visits from friends that are unexpected
Laughing with someone at my own jokes (usually people just groan)
Singing out of tune, at the top of my lungs to "Wicked" or other musicals, but Wicked is my favorite
Watching Glee (the TV show)
Watching Pushing Daisies
Watching Kristin Chenoweth clips on Youtube (she's my fav actress)
Driving down a gravel road listening to country music with the sun roof open
Being with my family/friends
Watching The Bonnie Hunt Show
Twins baseball
Thinking about the stupid stuff I did at Luther and USD, but mostly at Luther
UW Badgers's sports
Blackhawk Church
And many more...

There are so many things that bring me joy. How about you dear reader, what brings you joy?

The F'ing Post

A long time ago friends and I at camp wanted to name a recharge the F'ing Recharge and make it all about fellowship (hence the F'ing). Life hasn't been great for me as of late (see last post and my now hostility towards the UW Financial Aid Office), but I've had some amazing times of fellowship. Friday was full of f'ing, first I had coffee with Ber which is always great and we just shared our struggles (It's good to know I'm not the only one) and prayed. Then in the afternoon my good musical-loving M helped me hang some stuff up and then went to Jamba Juice. Saturday was another f'ing day where I went to see Star Trek with my good friend B. It was a great movie. Then sometime this week a friend from camp/Luther emailed me about this blog and just offered such great encouragement. Yay God for being great when my world sucks!

Off to Family Fusion practice; we've got a show next week already!

Struggling

I hate using the blog to vent, but right now I need it. I've been struggling for weeks with many different issues that added all up make life extremely hard!

The major thing is that I don't do change well and this school year will bring many changes to my life. I'll be researching and applying/interviewing for a 4th year externship. I already have an interview next month (AAAHHHHH!). I'm also coming up on a milestone birthday and am not feeling so great about it. I think mostly because I'm not where I'd thought I'd be in life at this time. I thought I'd be done with school and have a "real" job and maybe even be married or at least close. Instead I'm still in school with a graduation in 2011 and as single as a girl can get. Don't get me wrong I've LOVED the journey I've taken and can't wait to be a licensed audiologists, but I'm ready to start a shared journey, and don't know if it'll ever happen. This makes the whole decision about taking a 4th year more difficult because I want to choose a place where I'll meet people around my own age and maybe him. Or I think what if he's in Madison and I've missed him or don't meet him til I'm ready to leave? I don't know where I want to go and that seems so foreign to me as I usually have a clear cut location in mind (i.e. like Wisconsin for grad school). I'm so stressed that I'm tearing up even writing this...stupid emotional girl! Church on Sunday was hard because I've really been doubting the journey and God's timing.

I know that all the time God is good and so's His timing and plan. If you have some time pray for me this week. I thank you in advance!

Finally a break in the case of the stupid student loans

Like many, many people I have to take out student loans. They're pretty excessive considering I'm paying out-of-state tuition and this year has been crazy. First I got denied for a student loan because of my credit (lame because almost no student has good credit). After that I talked to the loan place and decided to add a cosigner. I just learned today that it was approved! All I have to do is fill out the MPN (master promisery note) and turn it in to the Financial Aid Office. I should have my $$$ next week and won't be absurdly poor anymore.

No Internet

The internet I was bumming off of is no longer working in my apartment. This means no internet for me until I get my loan check (still no word, starting to worry).

Taste of Madison

Every Labor Day weekend in downtown Madison there's an event called Taste of Madison.It's a free festival and 60+restaurants set up booths on Capital Square and sell food for super cheap (under $4). There's a variety of places like Madison local favs, ethnic foods, and chains like Chili's. There are also a few entertainment stands and they serve beer and wine there too.
I went for the first time (and maybe my last?) today and my tummy is full with super yummy foods. Here's what I had (in order):
Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake
Pepsi
Prime Rib Sandwich
Tiramusu

My grand total is way less than the calories consumed...drumroll...$11.

I didn't even tell you the best part as all the proceeds go to United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Dane County (http://www.ucp.org/ucp_local.cfm/152).

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

Tis the season

I LOVE fall and all that come with that in the Midwest. Cool mornings and nights with great temps in the 60's and even in the 50's. I cannot wait for fall and it seems that we've been having some fall-ish days as of late, though it's going to be warm for Labor Day weekend.

There are a lot of things that I love about fall: buying school supplies (I'm a nerd), wearing long sleeve T-shirts, upcoming holidays (i.e. Halloween, Thanksgiving, my bday), but the thing I love the most is all the pumpkin spice flavored goodies. Specifically Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Lattes, pumpkin bread/muffins, and pumpkin pie.

Drinks up!

First week of classes

Hi y'all,
I'm finished with my first week of classes for the semester. It's looking to not be easy but not too hard either. This semester I have 3 lecture classes (Pathologies II, Implantable Devices, & Counseling), clinic, and have capstone credit hours.
Next week should be a busy week, so good thing I have a 4-day weekend! On Tuesday I start clinic up in Prairie du Sac and Family Fusion practice starts again :). Wednesday I have classes and LifeGroup starts again and it's a whole new bunch of people.

Off to lunch!
TR

The cute pup

I want a dog, but can't have one in the apartment I'm living in this year. Luckily my little brother and his girlfriend got a German Shepard puppy and named him Dierks. He is pretty darn cute, but a little shit at times (at least according to the bro).

Ode to Savannah

To the city of Savannah, GA: I've visited you twice, but fell in love with the beauty of the Spanish moss, the live oak trees, and true Southern hospitality. So much history has happened within you and allegedly so many ghosts walk your houses, streets, and squares.

Hope to visit again soon.

Sincerely, TR

Long time no blog

I haven't written for awhile so I'll try to bring you up to speed.

Aug 8-12ish:
Roadtrip with Bethany. The roadtrip was great and some of my highlights were Savannah, fried pickles in Nashville, and the Twins winning the game we attended.

Saw my family for the first time in months which was amazing! Also met my fur-nephew (aka my brother's dog) Dierks who is horribly cute:)

Aug 15:
Moved back to Madison and into my new apartment. It's really small, but it's all mine and I really like it. It's a mess still as I'm trying to figure out how to best make use of the space and decorate it. My pictures are strewn all around the floor.

Since then I've been enjoying being back in Madison and minus an internet connection (thus the lack of blogging). I have another week before school starts and the craziness begins.
I'll try to blog more about the roadtrip and life as a Madisonian later.

Now it's time to say goodbye

I'm officially done with clinic: my clock hours are signed, their evaluation/grade report is in, and I am out-processed by the Charlie Norwood VAMC. It's a bit bittersweet as I've grown to love the clinic and the my supervisors and other students, but I'm excited to see Bethany (she gets here in less than 10 hours!) and my family soon:)

The roadtrip starts tomorrow and here's the basic itinerary:

Sat: Savannah

Sun: Nashville

Mon: Belle Meade Plantation (outside of Nashville)
St. Louis

Tues: Hannibal, MO (Mark Twain museum)
Ackley, IA (to see my Aunt T and pick up my quilt)
Humboldt, IA (HOME!)

Wed: Okoboji
Minneapolis -- TWINS GAME and to take Bethany home

Thurs: Home again:)

I'm free----free fallin' (lame I know)

Ready to fly. I don't look scared at all.

Free-fallin'!

More free-fallin'

Coming in for landing with my awesome pink parachute.

A successful skydive:)

These are just a few of the pics that were taken (there's about 150 on the CD they gave me) plus I have video of the jump too if anyone ever wants to see it.

Not much longer now

I have 10 days left until I'm finished with my clinic placement here in Augusta. It seems like I just moved down here. Besides that realization, this morning has been pretty great. I got a call from Miss McKenzie Messmann (I was her family's counselor at Okoboji for 4 years and now babysit her and her brother in MoHo). It made my morning.
Besides being almost finished with clinic, I'm almost done with my summer courses. I have a paper to write for my (stupid) hearing conservation course and I'm done with that course once I turn the paper in. The medical issues course has been a breeze and not stressful at all. Just a few more discussions to add my 2 cents.
Wish me good luck writing!

Oh what a beautiful morning

Thus far today has been an amazing day and for no particular reason. I stayed up a bit late last night, but slept amazingly and did not set an alarm. I work up feeling refreshed and not rushed. I took some time and went to the grocery store (one of my favorite errands, weird I know) and afterwards went to Smoothie King. As much as I love Saturday morning Farmer's Market in Madison, I'm going to miss my Augusta routine.

Although I have 2 Saturdays left (time has flown!) down south I'm not going to be in Augusta. Next weekend I'm going up to visit my cousin Jeff and his family near Fayetteville, NC and then next weekend Bethany will be here:) I think the plan is to go visit Savannah.

Frustrated

Usually Wednesdays are my day of relaxation as it's a day off of clinic. Today has been completely frustrating for two things.

1. I saw this hateful video on youtube from Westboro Church (the one that's well known for picketing GLBTA events and such) where they sing this song called "God hates the world" It made me so sad that these people feel the need to take a great song (We are the world) and turn it into hateful propaganda. I'm ashamed to call myself a Christian as these people also associate themselves with that name. If you want to view the hate here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsipv1jTQC8

2. $ sucks! After having to obtain a personal loan in order to travel down to GA (I couldn't take out a student loan because when I traveled down here wasn't during a session I was enrolled in). That $ is now gone because of random expenses that have cropped up like fixing my phone and computer, and buying a book for a summer class that I hadn't planned on buying at all. I now have no $ to get back to IA/WI with or pay my rent (both in GA and WI for August). I had to apply for a GradPLUS loan (one that can be consolidated with my Staffords and has low interest) and it's held up and I may not even get it in time to get back. For some reason my application was picked for manual review and now I have to fax my driver's lisence and Social Security card (real safe right?) so that it can be fully processed:( Idk what I'll do if I have to stay here longer. I'm just trying to be a financially responsible person, but I keep having these major set-backs. Please pray for my financial situation as I'm not asking for a handout!

Compy dramz

I've taken a noticeable absence from my blog, it wasn't intended. Last week my laptop screen stopped working. Turns out I had a cracked LCD screen :( I called HP to see if it was still in warranty ----nope only 2 days earlier the warranty lapsed. To send it to them to fix would cost $400+ and we all know I can't afford that. Luckily I got a recommendation for a repair shop here in Augusta and they were able to fix it a lot cheaper! PTL! The only problem was that it took about a week to fix it and in the mean time I still had to work on my classes. What a mess! I finally got the compy back on Wednesday night and I'm happy again.

Oh, I'm halfway there...

Ooo, living on a prayer.
As of today I'm halfway done with my internship in Augusta! I kinda feel like I've been here forever, but am just a little bit excited to know that a month from today I am done and get to see one of my best friends (BHolt) and then see my fam and Madison friends again soon.

Things I've learned at Charlie Norwood VAMC:
how to do an audio in 35 minutes
how to do SRT in 2 dB steps by bracketing
Starkey aids (especially the new S series) is pretty great
I like working with adults more than I thought
there are more ear mold companies out there besides Westone (mainly Em tech)
how to remove wax from ears by curette and irrigation
how to perform and interpret posturography tests
and much more

More of my summer reading

It's thunderstorming here in Augusta and I'm a bit bored. I've been pretty busy with classes and clinic lately, but I've made time to read for fun. In the past 2 weeks I've gotten through 3 books: Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult, My Enemy's Cradle by Sara Young, and The Reader by Bernhard Schlink.

Keeping Faith

Jodi Picoult

A story about a couple who gets a divorce and then their young daughter begins to have visions of God and experiencing stigmata. It was an interesting book, but not what I normally expect from Jodi Picoult.

My Enemy's Cradle

Sara Young

Set during Nazi concentration camp days, a young Jewish woman finds herself in a home for unwed mothers of German children. She is trying to keep her identity and the identity of the child's father a secret. A great historical fiction piece and taught me more about life during the Nazi regime.

The Reader

Bernhard Schlink

I haven't seen the movie, but I've heard that it's pretty pornographic. The book wasn't like that, it basically would sum up the experience as, "we made love." I admit it is a bit scandalous to have a 15 year old boy and a 40ish woman hook up, but the story was beautiful and I was crying by the end. The trial scenes and the end were what really got to me. I totally recommend this book!

Happy Holiday Weekend

Happy holiday weekend everyone. I wish I could be part of some of my favorite 4th of July traditions: the Dubuque Airshow and Fireworks with the Golden Knights and my family (and lots of tequila), watching fireworks from the dock at Okoboji Lutheran Bible Camp (usually with the Messmanns and other MoHo families, and Rhythym and Booms in Madison. This year I'm celebrating a 3-day weekend by finishing up some homework (ug!), hanging by the pool, and just hanging out with Amanda (my landlord/roommate) and Brian, her fiance. It should be pretty great and relaxing.

Happy Birthday America and may we continue to celebrate and fight for our freedoms. Thanks to all who have or are currently serving in the military for their protection, courage, and bravery:)

Phone Drama

Holy crap today was a stressful phone drama day. My phone that I dearly love (the original LG enV), has been on the fritz lately and hasn't been chargely properly. Today I couldn't get it to charge at all, so I took it to a local Verizon store. The charging port was broken, which is common on any of the enVs. I was able to purchase a replacement phone (another LG enV). Then I got it back to where I'm living and when I made a call no one could hear my voice. I took it back right away and bless their hearts they were able to fix it. I now have a new (but refurbished) phone that charges properly:)

Family Fusion: And now for the videos…

Some of you have heard me talk about this thing I do at church called Family Fusion. It's the thing I act in once a month. I have a few links to videos if anyone's interested in watching them. They about 1 hour, but some (especially the first) may be longer.

And now for the videos…

Andy downloaded the videos to our server (each production took at least 8 hours to download!!) I had trouble with the first “medium” file but the “large” worked well. Here is a note from Andy about the videos:
“Users can right-click and choose to save them, or let their in-browser Quicktime player show the stream. Keep in mind these are large files and will take some time to either buffer up or download.”

www.blackhawkmedia.org/temp/febffmed.mov

www.blackhawkmedia.org/temp/febfflarge.mov

www.blackhawkmedia.org/temp/marchffmed.mov

www.blackhawkmedia.org/temp/marchfflarge.mov

www.blackhawkmedia.org/temp/aprilffmed.mov

www.blackhawkmedia.org/temp/aprilfflarge.mov

www.blackhawkmedia.org/temp/mayffmed.mov

www.blackhawkmedia.org/temp/mayfflarge.mov

Hope you enjoy them!

Pictures

Here's where I'm living for the summer. It's a cute 3 bd townhouse. My room is on the back side, but parking's great:)

Here's one of the VA clinics in Augusta. I spend Mondays and Fridays here. This is the older of the two clinics, but is where we do all the special audiology tests such as balance testing (ENG/VNG, rotary chair, and posturography), ABR, and OAEs along with the occasional cochlear implant mapping.

This is the other VA clinic here. I spend Tuesdays and Thursdays here. It's a pretty new building (only 10 years old) and it's huge! It's easier to find a parking spot here as parking is quite limited at the other clinic.

Gray skies have cleared up...I have a happy face

I know I've had a rough couple of days just getting used to clinic and the different protocols, but yesterday and today were both pretty good days. Yesterday I did a bunch of hearing tests, because I really feel I suck at them. I did a hearing aid fit all by myself, with absolutely no supervision and I feel it went really well. Today one of the audiologists was out sick and I basically took over her caseload. I did some audios (again more practice) and cleaned the grossest hearing aid I have ever seen.

Beyond the clinic world, it's been real hot here probably about 95 degrees. Today it was over 100 degrees and sitting in AC is the only thing that sounds doable. Tomorrow it's supposed to be even warmer so I'm planning on hanging by the pool.

I've gotten some time to read some great books lately. Jody Piccoult's My Sister's Keeper (soon to be a movie) was amazing and like any of her books I cried a ton. I've also re-read Twilight and Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I have a 40% coupon at Borders and will most likely buy a book to read by the pool tomorrow.

Gonna go eat some more pizza with my roommate/landlord, Amanda.

I think I can, I think I can

I'm in my second week of clinic and I'm realizing that the VA isn't the best site for me to work in someday. I love the VA I'm at, but I just feel better suited to work with kids than grumpy old men with really hairy ears. Over the weekend I almost had a breakdown and wanted to quit school and do anything but audiology. I've come to my senses, but am really glad that in less than 2 months this placement will be over and I'll be back in Madison.

I miss Madison and my friends there along with only being a day's drive from my family. I miss having a church home where I feel encouraged. I miss Farmers Market and knowing where I'm going when I drive.

Other than that classes started this week. I have to do two online courses along with clinic. My medical issues class should be a breeze but hearing conservation may not be as easy. There's a lot of busy work and a test every week for the first couple weeks. Not looking forward to it.

First 3 days of clinic

Hey y'all I've been in Augusta for a week. Friday and Saturday I spent in Savannah with my 'rents. It was amazing-we went on a historic trolley tour and saw many awesome sites (I'll try to post some pictures). The hotel we stayed at a hotel near the riverwalk and walked down there for supper, praline candy samples, and some drinks (which you can get in a plastic cup and walk around downtown with)! Saturday we did some house tours of the two houses Juliet Gordon Low, the founder of Girl Scouts, which were beautiful and kept us out of the rain. We also went into the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, another great site that compares to many of the large Catholic churches I saw in Ireland 9 years ago. It was so peaceful and calm in there and the artwork was spectacular. Saturday night we headed to Columbia, SC and my parents flew out of there Sunday morning.

Clinic Day 1: I reported for clinic and was hustled into the HR department. HR didn't know that I was starting Monday and had lost some of my paperwork. Next, I had to be fingerprinted, not a big deal. I then needed to get a name badge which serves a couple of purposes: nametag and its swiped to get into the parking lot. Something got messed up here and I was then told to go to new employee orientation. Here I heard about benefits that I'm not receiving and had to fill out tax forms for wages I'm not going to get.

Clinic Day 2: Went back for more orientation, a half hour into it, I was called out to the hallway and told I didn't have to be there and to report to my superviosr. I tried to call my supervisor for 2 hours with no luck as she was in an all-staff meeting. I was starting to feel a stress migrane come on and so I called my supervisor again to tell her I was going home because I didn't feel good.

Clinic Day 3: (Better Day) Reported to my supervisor this morning and met some of the staff at the uptown division (so far I'd only been at the downtown division). I got my schedule figured out which is good. I have to do 40 hours a week (this VA's requirement), but I got to choose if I wanted to complete those hours in 4 or 5 days. Of course I chose 4 days, so I'll be in clinic Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 7:30 am til 6 pm with a hour to hour and a half lunch. I'll have Wednesdays off to just chill and catch up on homework. As for audiology stuff I just watched a bunch of audios, took a few case histories, and watched some hearing aid fittings. I don't have a coding/billing number yet, so I couldn't do anything too involved.

Tomorrow I'm helping another student trainee with new hearing aid user group. We'll fit a bunch of BTEs and do real ear with the Verifit system (for you auddies out there), then we'll do some orientation to the different features. It should be a good time. Speaking of other students there be a few down here with me. One started a couple of weeks ago and he's same semester as me; another starts in two weeks and she just finished her first year; two fourth years start sometime in July.

Augusta

I arrived in Augusta today:) I left Humboldt with my parents Monday morning and after a lot of driving, we got to Augusta about 3 p.m. EST. All in all it was a good drive. Stopped in Nashville and I loved it. Got to see the Ryman and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Music Row; it was pretty great and hopefully will spend more time there later.

I moved into the room I'm renting this afternoon. I found it on Craigslist and so far it's great. It's a cute little townhouse in a well-kept neighbor and my landlord is pretty great. She's an attorney down here and a couple years older than me. She has a bulldoge (Bogey) who is super-friendly and just cute!

Found the main VA hospital today and will explore more of Augusta tomorrow and find the downtown VA clinic. Getting a little nervous to start Monday, but will have time to review different things before then.

Standing firm

I'm home in Humboldt getting ready for the move to Augusta:) It's been a crazy couple of weeks, but things have worked out --- God's awesome like that. I found a great place to live while in Augusta, an affordable and small storage unit in Madison, and things seem to be working out for my parents' surprise anniversary party (don't worry they don't know about this blog!). I've even got a loan from my bank so that I can afford the move to Augusta until my financial aid kicks in. I must say that I was a bit freaked out during my last week in Madison, because all of the sudden things weren't working out (no place to live in Augusta, no storage, my mom was scheduled to work the day of the party, stress of packing), but I didn't break down and cry (a miracle right there) and took some time to pray and stand firm in the fact that God will provide. I think this is a huge sign of how much I've grown and matured faith-wise.

That's it for now:) Peace be with you!

Moving...

I'm getting ready to move out of my current apartment in Madison. It's sad seeing the kitchen all bare and my room is pretty sad too. I got a storage unit today and it will hopefully hold all the big stuff and some boxes...I don't know if it really will or not, but it's the biggest I could afford, so I have to make it work. It's hard to imagine how all my stuff will fit into my little studio apartment for next school year!

I think I finally found a place to live in Augusta. It's been quite a process, but it looks like I'll be renting a furnished room from a young female attorney. I'll have full access to the rest of the house and the pool and it's not far from the VA:) It's a bit pricey, but at this point I'll take what I can get.

I had my last life group for the semester on Wednesday:( I'm glad most of them will be back in the fall, but I'll definitely miss them this summer and then for sure Miranda in the fall.

Study Day

Today is one of my two favorite days of the year: Blackhawk Study Day. It's a day where the chuch is opened for college students to study, eat, and play games. It's amazing even though the food can be room temp and the wireless can cut out, but it's all about the fellowship.

Other news, I was in a car accident a few weeks ago. Nothing serious I got rear-ended at a right end and now my car needs a new bumper. My car went in for repair today and so I get a loaner car until it's fixed. It's a sweet 2009 Nissan Sentra --- it's so nice I just want to go for a country drive with it, but that's not very environmentally friendly.

Well I have 3 finals finished (Practice Management, Pediatric, & Geriatric) and only have to finish my Amplification take home. I also have to start hardcore packing...not fun!

A new start

It's been awhile since I blogged and couldn't sign in to adventuresinaudiology so I decided to start a new one.

Spring semester is almost over (only a couple finals in my way)! It's been a great school year and I've learned a lot academically, personally, and spiritually. Fall semester was pretty horrible, but spring was a lot nicer:) Hopefully the trend will continue and summer will be AMAZING. Speaking of this summer: I'm going to Augusta, GA to do an audiology rotation at the VA hospital down there. It was a great opportunity and I couldn't pass it up even though I don't know anyone there. Hopefully I'll have enough time to update you all on my summer adventures in the South! I plan to visit Savannah, Charleston, Dollywood!, Nashville, St. Louis, and the Atlantic Ocean ---- who knows what cool adventures will happen.

At my church, I've gotten more involved. I took small steps at first, but now I'm looking at cutting back on volunteering. I'm in a small group that is made up of single men & women in their 20's and sometimes 30's. It's been such a blessing to meet with them every Wednesday and get to know them better. Last summer I volunteered in Planet Kid (children's ministries) as a small group leader and then I stayed on in the fall. I have only 2 more Sundays left with some pretty great and energetic kiddos. The most exciting thing has been reintroducing myself to drama/acting with Family Fusion. This is a special Friday night service to help families learn more about and worship God together. I play a gal named Cammie who is crazy smart and organized and loves fashion. I've gotten to wear outfits (i.e. a leopard print dress and leggings) that I would never wear in the real world. The rest of the cast and our director are so encouraging and if I could I would nominate them all for Oscars!

My life for the next few months: starting to move my stuff out of the Madison west-side apartment tomorrow - a little bittersweet, but exciting. Moving home to Humboldt for a few weeks then heading to GA in June. Back to Madison to my new downtown apartment (my first time officially living alone) in mid-August to start my last year of classes here.