I looooove Warm Springs :)

Spent the weekend in Chattanooga with former classmate Becca. We walked ALL over the place....did fun stuff...ended the night with a really neat conversation with her and her husband about how Warm Springs, GA changed the WORLD, really. Her husband used to visit her while she was doing a 3 month fieldwork down in Warm Springs (Becca is the one who introduced me to the idea of working there) and he toured the museum and loves the history of the place. He pointed out some good points to me!

Roosevelt is well known for his amazing leadership during the war and great depression...

what people don't think about is how his polio and subsequent stays at Warm Spring changed his attitude and thoughts a LOT...

he went from elite rich president to a humbled man willing to surround himself with people with disabilities (especially polio), the SHUNNED....saw first-hand how people lived in rural GA and their poverty....really impressed upon him the need - on a personal level - to make sure the "little people" were taken care of and given work...

Imagine how his presidency was changed by these major life events...he may have never even BECOME president had Warm Springs not existed as a way to motivate him to move past his polio.

Very inspiring. Warm Springs is a truly magical place that changed the world!! 

My Georgia licensure came through....Monday I tie up loose ends, Tuesday and Wednesday I have general orientation, and starting Thursday I have my first day as a real OTR/L. I'm excited.

I think sometime next week I'll have to make a final decision as to how I want to take on the future....maybe officially closing down this blog (still up to read, just not adding to it)....not sure yet. Since my name/work and all that are posted, I'd be exceptionally limited in what I could post. As in, basically just random things not related to work. Dunno. I'll figure it out. My main goal is to stay an employee so that means being VERY VERY VERY careful! 

I have received word of a new blog to link for y'all, from an OT student starting this upcoming week...plus a big ol' horror story about the importance of keeping up with continuing education hours/licensure lapses! Coming soon! Maybe tomorrow night.

I am always thrilled to receive e-mails and comments from y'all. Thanks so much for the support and/or for using me as a vessel of OTosity. Haha. Anyway...good night.

woot Pendretti

Last night I lay down with Pendretti's OT for Physical Dysfunction and skimmed through the first 200 pages....need to start tabbing. I need reminders of being occupation-based and client-centered. :) Today I get to go observe at outpatient satellite clinic, I'm excited about that. :)

OTs....angels?!! sometimes at least ;)

I just searched my blog for "angel" and while I found some interesting stuff, I didn't find what I was looking for. I might have not written about it when it happened? I dunno.

Way back on my acute care hospital rotation ie over a year ago, I spent a day observing at a nearby rehab hospital. I was observing this older black lady get rehab and I believe she was being co-treated by an OT and PT. I'm sad I apparently didn't write this up as I forget the details, but it was somewhat eerie. She referred to me as her angel and I don't mean that in the casual sense. She didn't have much capacity for speech but when she did it was wanting to know where I was (if I had left her line of sight slightly).. It was a little spine-tingling/intriguing.

I was thinking about that the other day...what an odd experience. Then today I was observing an OT, almost one of the first things the patient does is call me an angel. It startled me because of the story I had been thinking about.

I think OTs are often called angels...some of it may be that most of them tend to be young women, and some of it may be that they (usually) tend to be very caring (waiting here for my friend "Cookie Gimp" to pipe up with some interesting remarks)......lots of reasons.....I guess a lot of caring people get called angels!! Now, PTs just get called sadists.....because they are!!!!!!!!

KIDDING, KIDDING, KIDDING, I SWEAR......kinda...no SERIOUSLY I AM KIDDING (noimnot)...JUST KIDDING. Physical therapists are amazing and awesome. :) But so are OTs!!!!!

I'm excited to be an occupational therapist!! More observation tomorrow and Monday in various areas, then Tuesday and Wednesday are generic orientation, then DUM DUM....we see what happens?!!!

hmmm wiping away the OT rust....

Someone left this comment: I've recently graduated from my Bachelor's degree...& is going to start work soon..around the same time as you! I'm rusty as well after a looooong time of not doing clinical placement...how r u gng to prepare for work? I'm having butterflies... 

I'm having butterflies too! And massive lunar moths! Giant large wings flapping around!! Augh! It's been a long time since i've done any OT! 

I'm going to prepare by doing some observation, studying some old study material, maybe forcing a PT or two to work with me on transfers...hmm what else...oh yeah trying not to panic ;)

Good luck!!!

OT connections

I think I've posted this but not positive. I'm in the "therapeutic recreation" center on their semi-more consistent wireless. Warm Springs has a big ol' mountain blocking signals....so my cell phone (Verizon which supposedly does the best around here) drops off regularly, and my wireless Internet is a joke! ANYWAY...that makes it hard to work on all my internet stuff like blogging etc!

I highly recommend people with questions or thoughts on OT, go to OT Connections (by AOTA). 

Here is a comment Sam, guru of OT Connections, left recently:

"looking forward to reading your practitioner blog...just wanted to clarify that OTConnections is open to non AOTA members too and they can blog and participate in all parts of the website except for the SIS forums which are a member only area. 

so even if you are not an AOTA member you can join for FREE and participate! "

there's no going back now!

I have a Georgia drivers license (the DMV in LaGrange only had like one person in line ahead of me) and had to surrender my TN one!

Also got fingerprinted at the court in Greenville!

Tomorrow I go back to Greenville for car tags/title!

And my TB skin thing read tomorrow too.

And I just had gym orientation so now I can go work out! They have a huge swimming pool, a bowling alley area open a few times a week, and a relatively big weight room but only a few cardio machines. Still, better than nothing and it's next door to my cottage. :) I'm excited. Plus I found out they have wireless there that actually WORKS ::ahem:: so maybe I can go chill in the lobby there to get important email stuff done.

September 1st is coming up!! 

hmmm

frustrating that both cell phone service and internet are poor where i live! warm springs is a black hole for reception!

spent a lot of time with human resources today - going over healthcare benefits (hope im licensed by sept 1st as my insurance won't kick in until at least november otherwise!!) also had to get a TB screen and also had to have a drug test! That was traumatic! I had to drink 4 sodas before I could go! The iTouch app "Shy Bladder" would have come in handy, lol

tomorrow i get my drivers license, car tags, id badge picture, and hopefully orientation to gym so I can work out! Thursday I get TB shot read and tie up other loose ends of human resources stuff I guess!

September 1st is first day of orientation! I'll be a part-time "graduate tech' at first until licensure goes through, but I think licensure will come through quickly as all it's waiting for now is NBCOT certification.

My room is ALMOST organized...maybe in 2 more days it will be enough to get it all the way organized. I plan to live in this shared housing for 3 months at hopefully both/min max - ie minimum in that even if I decide to move, I'll stay here 3 months so that I can be used to commuting, relocation, familarity, and have packing amnesia kick in. But also max because it's hard living in one room and also I REALLY REALLY WANT MY LESTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ::sobs::: Anyway. Okay time to tackle some more papers I guess...

moving

Tonight is my first night in GA in my own room in the shared housing. I spent many hours today getting it all put together although it still has many hours to go. It's tempting to say that I should just leave it bare as I need to move soon (so I can have my cat!!) etc. But I think it's worth a day or two of hard work t have several months of higher quality of life...

Tomorrow I start interacting with human resources & GA government in general to get driver's license, paperwork, all that, started. I have this week to get settled in - I of course want to get all the paperwork done, get my room settled into, catch up on things I'm behind on even from Memphis, and also do a bunch of shadowing of various therapists. 

I am glad to have Internet access right now, it's pretty weak, inconsistent/spotty here....slow too. For an internet addict like me, that is a HUGE shock to the system!! I am grateful to my friends who helped me move and grateful to all in general for the support. More later...it's only 10pm but I'm tempted to go to sleep. One of most exhausting weekends ever. Better see what time I meet up with human resources first though!!! 

I can't tell you all how many "firsts" I've had recently, especially even in the last few days, but a LOT....let's hope things continue to go smoothly. 

I'm in GA....

most exhausting 48 hours ever. but it all went without any major hitches...very nice. looking forward to settling in and it still has not sunk in that I live here now, not Memphis. more tomorrow or soon when im more coherent. very tired! but glad. 

Count down - two days left

Thursday & Friday are my two last days in Memphis. Still have a LOT to get done but got a lot done today. Have said goodbye to most of my friends in town. Have errands to run and then a LOT more packing to do..the kitchen, all my clothes, etc etc. Not to mention finish filing, ack! But I think it will all get done in time. Guess we'll see, huh?

I'm very much NOT in OT mode right now (besides to find out the dress code...gotta go buy some more khakis...bane of my existence!) - just trying to get through relocation. Once I get there, I'll start being in OT mode and will hopefully have more to say that is OT related. :) My first day of orientation is Monday, September 1st. I'm there a week early to do all the employee health, human resources, settling in, stuff. I hope to shadow some as well. I haven't done any OT since my last day of fieldwork in late March - so 5 months! I'm rusty! Had no idea things would go down the way they did - so many odd twists and turns I never would have guessed - so it was a long drawn out process. 

It's 120am...time for bed.

augh!

Four more days to get ready. Monday went well. Today, Tuesday so far includes two mini crisises that make me go AUGH!

1) At 430am I had to get up and turn lights on to try and find source of this object beeping every once in a while...difficult to locate. I eventually found it in the source of an old phone with a PHENOMENAL battery system, that was beeping its low battery, under the bed. How it got turned on (seeing as how it's not in use) is a very annoying mystery. 

2) I heard back from my short term gap insurance that they - instead of adjusting date of coverage by two days as customer service rep said was okay/no big deal - cancelled it "per my request" - wrote back like AUUUUUUUGHHHHHH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO except not in those words.

Okay...let's hope the rest of the day has no more issues!! 

About to become a real occupational therapist :)

Well...just had my last local weekend in Memphis!

Moving early on Saturday. 

I have sooo much to do between now and then....so tired for now so I hope tomorrow I wake up ready to tackle a whole bunch of items...I have a two page to-do list and it's probably closer to 3 if I add in some of tonight's realizations!!

I have to focus on GETTING THERE for now, logistically etc- but once I am there it will be time to focus on OT and my blogging will get back to OT world more! FIRST JOB! 

Dum dum dum....IKEA

THE IKEA CATALOG HAS COME IN! ::heavens open and sun shines and angels sing::: LAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am leaving for rurrrrrral Georgia on early, Saturday the 22nd! I should probably be focusing on like, OT, but honestly I'm more focused on the logistics of getting there...I'll have plenty of time to focus on OT once I'm firmly ensconced in rural Georgia, knowing nobody! 

Autism Conference - watch sessions online - incl. Temple Grandin.

The National Autism Conference was held at Penn State University last week, and now anyone is able to watch archived sessions online for free here:
http://www.outreach.psu.edu/programs/autism/webcasting.htm#archive
I've watched a lot of them and they're great.  There's great sessions on current sensory integration research and there's even a session by Temple Grandin.  I  thought you might want to know to post on your blog!

*I love when blog readers send me perfect little tidbits like this...makes my job easy as I can just copy/paste. Thanks Susan for the heads-up, I adore you with all my heart, as much as is possible considering I don't actually know you. :)

Lester or Human Resources?

Well...choices. Deal with a big ol' stack of Human Resources stuff from my new first job...or.....post pictures of Lester? Hmm. Lester wins.

http://lesterthelionkitty.blogspot.com/ 

But I do plan to work on the Human Resources stuff tomorrow. I gotta learn about grown-up stuff like flexible spending accounts and dismemberment insurance! 

I'm an occupational therapist!!!!!!! Have I mentioned that lately.

Have I mentioned lately how glad I am to be part of a profession that is so awesomely cool and fun? :) In less than a month I'll actually start getting money for something I enjoy doing!! I'm sure when body fluids get involved I'll be grateful for the payment part, but for the most part, it's so much fun!!

I've done all the Georgia OT licensure stuff I can do....now just waiting on things to process. Have a bunch of human resources stuff to figure out such as which health insurance plan and that flexible benefit stuff....it's all alien talk to me.

It still feels weird to say I'm an occupational therapist!! 

In other exciting news, my blog just hit a little over 125,000 page views since its conception. And Lester is crazy. That is all. 

Are all OT schools the same in level of awesomeness or suckiness?

So...this sweet girl below definitely knows how to flatter a blogger...my fav sentence being  "praise your OT-greatness", hahaha.

ANYWAY, this passionate new friend of mine is trying to decide between her in-state "cheap" school in the South versus some other fancy private or out of state tuition college. I Jane Doe'd her of course. I personally think each program is foundationally similar enough that she'll be okay anywhere....although if she has the money to move states I'd say a place like UAB or Wash U would be pretty powerful. So, my readers, anonymously or not, please comment on your belief! I'd really be interested to hear how people view their OT programs and I know she'd appreciate the insight as well. I wrote her back and also told her to check out OT Connections, my new pet cause ;)

Ok Lester is screaming, better go get him some broth before my eardrums explode. Read below! I love we are inheriting a new passionate prospective student to the OT cause!

 

My name is Jane Doe and I am a pre-OT student at Jane College.  I recently switched my course of study to OT when I learned about the profession last year, and I have been hooked ever since.  I have spent the last year researching every OT related website I could find, and a few weeks ago I discovered your blog.  I am very interested in the creative aspect of Occupational Therapy and I love that it is so multi-dimensional!  I actually found your blog because I was doing a google search on Occupational Therapy and therapeutic cooking and stumbled upon the post where you wrote about cooking with simulated disabilities.  After I read that I was desperate to find out which MOT program you were in so I actually created a blog account to have access to all of your posts.  What started out as a search, turned into a complete obsession.  I am currently reading all of your blogs from start to finish and I am about a third of the way through them.  I think you provide the greatest insight and advice to incoming OT students.  You are more informative than any website I have found so far and I look forward to reading the rest of you blogs.  The reason I am writing to you is not only to praise your OT-greatness and thank you for the awesome information you have provided, but also to seek your advice about OT schools.  I am entering my last year of undergrad, so I have been researching schools like crazy.  The easiest choice for me is Jane Health College because of the cheap in-state tuition, but I am in a long standing battle with myself over cheap tuition versus a possibly better (and more fun) education.  So far I have loved reading about all of the fun and creative labs and group work your school offers.  It seems to me that your school does a lot of hands on learning in addition to the book work that is necessary.  I think your program truly defines the Occupational approach to therapy.  So my question to you is, do you think most school's take that creative, occupation-based approach or is this something that is unique to your program?  I plan on touring the two Jane area schools, and I am going to try to meet more people that have gone through the program, but so far most of the graduates I have met do not seem to hold the same passion for the creative part of OT that I love so much.  I have read many different websites for schools but have never found anything as informative as your blog.  Any information you could provide me about OT programs would be greatly appreciated.  I look forward to hearing from you!

 

Clarification on OT Connections :)

Susan & "Mamapeas": Thanks for re-checking out OT Connections! I am confident y'all will discover - as did I - that it's much easier to navigate these days :) 

========

Sam @ AOTA has left a new comment on your post "OT Connections, New and improved. :)": 

looking forward to reading your practitioner blog...just wanted to clarify that OTConnections is open to non AOTA members too and they can blog and participate in all parts of the website except for the SIS forums which are a member only area. 
so even if you are not an AOTA member you can join for FREE and participate! 

Quote of the Day

"somehow i feel like before your career is done, there will be a St. Dobyns medical center :P"

Hahaha! Saint!! That's hilarious. Okay I need to get going....errrands to run!! Or really errands to WALK in this heat. 

UT, Police station, a few other random places...then Sun Studios with Brooke - neither of us have ever been even though living here a LONG TIME - she leaves for John Hopkins for her first job - WAY TO GO BROOKE - so she is doing her Memphis Bucket List....although I guess a bucket list has to do with kicking the bucket...so....maybe that's a misgnomer. 

Anyway. then tonight is dinner with a fieldwork student friend! So I guess an OT-related day all around.

Look how short this is. I'm so proud. 

OT Connections, New and improved. :)

OTConnections.AOTA.ORG  is now new and improved! They've changed the format/layout some so that it's more intuitive and easier to find things. They have forums, galleries, blogs, news, etc. 

I was talking to a non-traditional student today and we discussed how she would not have much time to blog. I recommended to her that she join OT Connections (I think you have to be an AOTA member to write stuff though...wish she should join as soon as she starts OT school next month! :)). That way she can blog when she feels like it and it will get posted visibly...not get lost way down in search engine rankings because of inactivity. 

And I think now that OTConnections has gotten easier, I am going to go that route too with practitioner blogging. I'll leave this student blog up as it has years of material (some of it better than other, cough, lol, I ramble too much, cough), but by next month I will probably have stopped adding new content to it, and will be over at OT Connections? Not positive. At the very least I'm going to try and use OTConnections more.

I recommend AOTA members (and if you are in OT and not AOTA members, you need to self-flagellate in penance and then sign up immediately)...join OT Connections!! We can have one big giant party!!! And AOTA didn't even pay me to write this promote-ory post....even though they should...hahaha. Seriously though, it's a great site and it needs support! Rah rah sis boom bah. The End. 

this is sooo not worth reading, I promise my next post will be more worthy

Today was a busy day. I feel like blabbering (typing relaxes me) so I'm hitting every excruciating detail...with specific names for once!! If you get annoyed by rambles, don't read this. 

I spoke to vet/People's Pharmacy and they called in chloropirenanemamamenenane... maleate (antihistamine) for my cat in tuna flavored treats! I'm skeptical it will work as Lester has kind of figured out pill pockets, but we'll see. People's Pharmacy is awesome - it kind of specializes with bizarre orders and then also does a lot of vet stuff too - they can turn drugs into ear gels to be absorbed, or treats, or probably other things too. 

Also called a few other places, called Georgia State Board of OT repeatedly (never an answer, not evening answering machine...must research this), got forms ready, went to Total Body Conditioning at the UT gym and almost DIED but it was a good workout. I get severe neck/jaw/ear pain when I exercise at high intensity, so bad I have to stop and wait for my heart rate to go down (it can get to 200+ in just a few minutes) as it hurts so much....I came home glad I worked out but discouraged & remembering why I tend not to exercise hard! Googled it again and stuff for TMJ popped up! My twin sister had to have TMJ surgery in her teens, where they took bone out of her hip. Then she had a wired shut mouth for a while. I remember one time Dad made her a meat (dinner) milkshake and I laughed and she cried. Oh the memories. I digress. Anyway, 

I was like, dude. It fits, all the chronic headaches and how my jaw locks sometimes, and the pain...so decide I need a cheap-o massage from MassageEnvy, a TMJ massage...so I call them and get a TMJ massage set up for a while later. 

Go to post office with letters to send out - police reports for identity theft, plus letters + checks to NBCOT and Tennessee State Board of OT, to send stuff to Georgia. Realize I forgot wallet at home, very unlike me and very annoying!!. Had stamps with me though. I put $1.21 on one of them instead of $1.22, by accident - I was trying to figure out 94 cents + 27 cents and was flustered by a homeless guy asking me for money. [I doubt he believed I forgot my wallet!!] I wonder if they'll send it back to me because of that one penny. Hmm.

Go home for wallet. Go to MassageEnvy. Get TMJ massage. Massage lady tells me that health professionals make up most of her clientele, especially nurses, and that she sees 3 OTs. I was surprised at that.

Go to notary place #1 [drug store Ike's, get passport photo too. Helpful]. Notary gone. Go to #2 [drug store Super D, lady very helpful]. Notary gone for two days. Go to Notary #3 [Wiles-Smith drug store]. Dude says he requires TWO forms of government ID and I only had one. I don't like carry my passport around with me and its unsafe to carry your SS card!! He was unsmiling, I didn't like him! Finally went to Notary #4, Mail Center on Madison, and they were very nice and signed my Georgia licensure form. FINALLY. [Note: Fedex-Kinkos in Midtown doesn't have a notary anymore, and I don't have a local bank, so those weren't options!]

Also pick up a very late lunch at Sean's Cafe [yum meditterean], and a drawing book at the Art Center. I'm going to learn depth perspectives so I can make my poppy field painting!!! And now I am home and worn out but have a lot more to do soon! At least Georgia licensure stuff is well on its way to being completed, paperwork wise...it may still take 6 weeks plus before all is intact...but I can work as a tech until licensure comes through. 

I paid approximately $100ish? for Tennessee OT licensure which I have never used...now I am having to start over with GA licensure...it cost me $25 to get my TN license verification sent to GA, $55 to get NBCOT score to GA, $5 notary, $8.00 passport photo, and then a few other random expenses. It adds up! 

I've got one professional reference and one personal reference figured out...and have one more professional reference to beg for. It's easy, all they have to do is sign a premade form attesting to my moral character, but the downside is that it has to be notarized, which is a pain for my references! 

Lester is pretending to be Monorail Cat on top of my chair...I reinforce all his bad behaviors. At this point he has learned to sit by his food bowl and cry piteously until I make him up some catfood broth. (He ignores the hard kibble sitting next to him of course). I always give in when he gets loud. That's so wrong of me from a conditioning standpoint!

I've been researching art stuff...I just made my first knotted lariat and I am very proud. I was looking at ways to make cheap beads out of recyclables, and I made a few test beads out of paper....where you basically just roll little strips of paper very tight and secure with glue. Can be very interesting looking. Potentially a good OT project or maybe even sheltered workshop kinda thing...

Also a way to make neat plastic beads using old water bottle strips, using a heat gun...gotta experiment with that too. All of this gets filed somewhere in my mental OT toolbox to be graded up/down...

Well, I'm more relaxed after a busy day since I was able to type it all out and get it out of my brain...if anyone actually read this entire thing, I applaud your bravery. I typically try not to make such long rambly posts but sometimes you just have to make an exception. My brain was so jumbled up and now it's empty. 

Ok...off to do a combination of boring chores/important errands/random artwork/Lester adoring/blog catch-up...

Random OT/life babble

This weekend I've gotten to see friends & exercise & paint (poorly) & watch movies & pack up some more! I rarely watch movies and these days I very rarely pull out my art supplies, so those were both nice bonuses. My living room continues to look disastrous but it is coming along...and Lester is starting to feel better! 

Tommorow my goals are to see some friends, exercise, paint (I'm trying to learn how to do a landscape with two point perspective, ack), watch a movie, and continue working on packing up. My mainest (lol) goal tomorrow is to get some important paperwork ready to go out Monday morning. That includes preparation for vital Georgia OT licensure documents! 

This upcoming week I just need to continue getting ducks in a row in preparation for the move, while trying to remain healthy about it all and not get too stressed. About 3 weeks left in Memphis. Wow. It doesn't feel real to be moving. It just feels like I'm going on a trip somehow. 

I need to go ahead and set up a few shadow sessions while I'm in Memphis to kind of refresh my OT brain. I do a lot of OT reading and all, but in terms of being in a clinic, I haven't set foot in one since late March! 

It's almost 1am so I guess I'm going to head to bed. Lester is mewing like a plantain. Haha, that cracked me up way more than it should. Anyway. Good night from an OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST!!!! Not a student anymore!!! Sooo weird. 

PS: Blog wise, I might transition to OT Connections...it's getting more user friendly!