This time of year is my favorite!! I know most people enjoy Thanksgiving thru New Years, but it has ALWAYS been the time of year that I look forward to most. This is mostly due to all the family time and traditions we have...
BUT this year will be different....
I will not be home for Thanksgiving - the first time I have not spent Thanksgiving with my family...EVER! I know people aren't with their families for every holiday and that is fine for them, but for me, it is soooo strange. We have Thanksgiving dinner, go see a movie or watch football on TV while we peruse the Black Friday ads, make a plan for Black Friday, start the shopping at midnight (I just joined this tradition last year because I always felt sleep was more important, but I'm sad to miss it this year) and then shop til we drop! On the weekend following Thanksgiving, I start playing Christmas music (NEVER before Thanksgiving - I like one holiday at a time, Thank you very much!) and watch ALL of my Christmas movies while I decorate my tree and my condo - both inside and out!
This year, however, I will not be with my family for Thanksgiving. I do not have decorations or a tree. I will not be spending money on things "on sale" for the sake that they are "on sale" (this could be a plus!).
Now for the good news, I will get to spend Thanksgiving with my best friend in California. Being in Hawaii, I am a 9ish hour plane ride from home. From LA, only 5, so when she thought of the idea of me coming there instead - I wholeheartedly agreed and bought the ticket! We are not having the traditional Thanksgiving food, but will be having a Cajun Thanksgiving with food we are used to eating back home!
If you can't be with the family you were born into, the next best thing is the family you choose to have in your life!
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Middle School...
Do you remember middle school?
Most people hear "middle school" and start to cringe and usually have at least one story to tell. Usually their story does not have a happy ending....
Even though my middle school years were not so bad and I don't necessarily cringe when I hear those words, finding out my main caseload was to be middle schoolers had my mind racing! Middle schoolers? What will I do with middle school students? I am used to storybooks, singing, painting, kid games....
What I have learned is that I really do enjoy working with my middle school students! They are old enough to start cracking jokes with, to start talking about 'real world' information with, and to question you on answers you give! Some people may not like when a student gives their opinion or questions an action of an adult - but I, if it is asked in a respectful manner, encourage it! It makes me a better speech therapist and it makes me really think about the information I am trying to teach them! Now, there are definately moments when the hormones are raging - emotional girls, 'too tough for school' boys, and a little too much girlfriend/boyfriend-of-the-week talk. However, when asked to get back on topic, most of the time they comply. They are willing to do the work because they are starting to understand why it is important.
So for all you 'elementary only' SLPs - Middle School ain't so bad! :)
(Though I would still take the opportunity to get back to singing and storybooks!)
Most people hear "middle school" and start to cringe and usually have at least one story to tell. Usually their story does not have a happy ending....
Even though my middle school years were not so bad and I don't necessarily cringe when I hear those words, finding out my main caseload was to be middle schoolers had my mind racing! Middle schoolers? What will I do with middle school students? I am used to storybooks, singing, painting, kid games....
What I have learned is that I really do enjoy working with my middle school students! They are old enough to start cracking jokes with, to start talking about 'real world' information with, and to question you on answers you give! Some people may not like when a student gives their opinion or questions an action of an adult - but I, if it is asked in a respectful manner, encourage it! It makes me a better speech therapist and it makes me really think about the information I am trying to teach them! Now, there are definately moments when the hormones are raging - emotional girls, 'too tough for school' boys, and a little too much girlfriend/boyfriend-of-the-week talk. However, when asked to get back on topic, most of the time they comply. They are willing to do the work because they are starting to understand why it is important.
So for all you 'elementary only' SLPs - Middle School ain't so bad! :)
(Though I would still take the opportunity to get back to singing and storybooks!)
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
This blog is starting to resemble my journal...
And by that I mean I only write once every month, and by once every month I mean once every 2 months :)
I have always had a journal, as long as I can remember. My middle school journal was filled with sooo much middle school drama that it is funny. My high school journal became a little more "real life" and that journal is the same one I use today. How can a journal last that long, you ask? When you only write once every couple months, and sometimes once every couple years, the pages don't fill up that quick! There have been times I open my journal to write about a particularly stressful/sad/happy/monumental moment and see the last date was two years previous. I then try to play catch up and write down the highlights. I absolutely love to read back over my journal - I always laugh, always cry, always want to call my BFF from high school, and always think about how far I have come (and sometimes how much things are very much the same). During my undergraduate years in college, I wrote in an online diary (pre-blog world) called freeopendiary.com. I have since forgot my log-on name and password and can no longer view the entries which makes me sad to have lost those moments, so I am an big believer of hand-written journals.
I encourage everyone to keep a journal. If your not into writing, now with blogs, it is easier than ever to document your life!
Back to the purpose of this blog - travel therapy...
The job is going better now that I have established a routine. It's nice to know more about my co-workers, students, and the overall environment of my school(s). Kauai itself is still as lovely as ever - though I don't enjoy near as much as I should. Yesterday, due to not feeling well, I spent the entire day inside my condo! No beach, no walk, no swimming pool, no market - nothing! I sometimes let myself get too much into routine and don't take the time to stop and enjoy this once in a lifetime experience. This weekend I am heading to island of Maui - taking a few tours and relaxing by the beach there! I will come out of this job with NO money, but definitely some great memories!
Since I like to document specific events that have happened - I have officially survived my first tsunami evacuation! I am no stranger to evacuations, growing up on the gulf coast. BUT we usually have 2-3 days to evacuate to safety. Tsunami evacuations give you about 2 hours (if you're lucky)! I had just gotten home from a Hula show (left early actually) to hear all of the fire alarms going off in the condos. I thought, hm....that's strange, but there doesn't appear to be any apparent danger so I'll go inside. Next thing I know, I see one neighbor loading a suitcase and pillow into her van and another leaving her condo with four boxes. At this point, I am starting to think something isn't quite right and start thinking about all the gas stations I passed on the way home - all of them full of cars, lined up, like you see in a hurricane evacuation. So I continue to make my way to my door and another neighbor comes into the hall and asked if I've heard the warning. WARNING?!!! What warning, I asked...quite alarmed at this point!
She proceeds to inform me of the earthquake in Canada, how there is no land between there and here, how they are expecting 7-12 foot waves, how our condos will be underwater, how we have less than two hours to evacuate, etc. So I ask the obvious question, "Where do we evacuate to?" Her reply, "up the mountain." Up the mountain, UP THE MOUNTAIN - what the heck??? Luckily my wonderful neighbors took me under their wing, gave me instructions and exchanged cell phone numbers. I go upstairs to pack a few items and then there is knock on the door. The security guards are making their rounds, making us leave, no time left! So I finish packing, head downstairs and see the group of neighbors hanging out on the benches. Turns out the roads are blocked, the traffic isn't moving, so no one can get anywhere. They decide to wait it out...I, knowing what flooding can do, can't take the anxiety anymore. I decide to sit in my car on the road - hey I'm about 20 feet closer to being up the mountain.
Fast forward to 45 minutes later....I am parked in a field, at the middle school, about 1 mile up the mountain. My neighbors arrive not too much later, we set up chairs, and we wait......
and wait......
and wait...
befriend the security guard who starts to give us updates.....
and wait......
and wait.....
and finally, after only 1-2 foot waves (praise Jesus!) are told we are still locked in the gates and are not allowed to leave....
and wait.....
and wait.....
Finally, we get the all clear to leave. Best part about evacuating only a mile from your house?? It only takes about 20 minutes to get home and you get to sleep in your bed that night!
Apparently, being the touristy place it is, the good people of Kauai made shirts for the tourist "I survived the tsunami"....they were plain (hey, had to make them before the vacation was over!!) so I didn't purchase one myself, but I am now fully prepared if it ever happens again.
I leave you with Aloha!
I have always had a journal, as long as I can remember. My middle school journal was filled with sooo much middle school drama that it is funny. My high school journal became a little more "real life" and that journal is the same one I use today. How can a journal last that long, you ask? When you only write once every couple months, and sometimes once every couple years, the pages don't fill up that quick! There have been times I open my journal to write about a particularly stressful/sad/happy/monumental moment and see the last date was two years previous. I then try to play catch up and write down the highlights. I absolutely love to read back over my journal - I always laugh, always cry, always want to call my BFF from high school, and always think about how far I have come (and sometimes how much things are very much the same). During my undergraduate years in college, I wrote in an online diary (pre-blog world) called freeopendiary.com. I have since forgot my log-on name and password and can no longer view the entries which makes me sad to have lost those moments, so I am an big believer of hand-written journals.
I encourage everyone to keep a journal. If your not into writing, now with blogs, it is easier than ever to document your life!
Back to the purpose of this blog - travel therapy...
The job is going better now that I have established a routine. It's nice to know more about my co-workers, students, and the overall environment of my school(s). Kauai itself is still as lovely as ever - though I don't enjoy near as much as I should. Yesterday, due to not feeling well, I spent the entire day inside my condo! No beach, no walk, no swimming pool, no market - nothing! I sometimes let myself get too much into routine and don't take the time to stop and enjoy this once in a lifetime experience. This weekend I am heading to island of Maui - taking a few tours and relaxing by the beach there! I will come out of this job with NO money, but definitely some great memories!
Since I like to document specific events that have happened - I have officially survived my first tsunami evacuation! I am no stranger to evacuations, growing up on the gulf coast. BUT we usually have 2-3 days to evacuate to safety. Tsunami evacuations give you about 2 hours (if you're lucky)! I had just gotten home from a Hula show (left early actually) to hear all of the fire alarms going off in the condos. I thought, hm....that's strange, but there doesn't appear to be any apparent danger so I'll go inside. Next thing I know, I see one neighbor loading a suitcase and pillow into her van and another leaving her condo with four boxes. At this point, I am starting to think something isn't quite right and start thinking about all the gas stations I passed on the way home - all of them full of cars, lined up, like you see in a hurricane evacuation. So I continue to make my way to my door and another neighbor comes into the hall and asked if I've heard the warning. WARNING?!!! What warning, I asked...quite alarmed at this point!
She proceeds to inform me of the earthquake in Canada, how there is no land between there and here, how they are expecting 7-12 foot waves, how our condos will be underwater, how we have less than two hours to evacuate, etc. So I ask the obvious question, "Where do we evacuate to?" Her reply, "up the mountain." Up the mountain, UP THE MOUNTAIN - what the heck??? Luckily my wonderful neighbors took me under their wing, gave me instructions and exchanged cell phone numbers. I go upstairs to pack a few items and then there is knock on the door. The security guards are making their rounds, making us leave, no time left! So I finish packing, head downstairs and see the group of neighbors hanging out on the benches. Turns out the roads are blocked, the traffic isn't moving, so no one can get anywhere. They decide to wait it out...I, knowing what flooding can do, can't take the anxiety anymore. I decide to sit in my car on the road - hey I'm about 20 feet closer to being up the mountain.
Fast forward to 45 minutes later....I am parked in a field, at the middle school, about 1 mile up the mountain. My neighbors arrive not too much later, we set up chairs, and we wait......
and wait......
and wait...
befriend the security guard who starts to give us updates.....
and wait......
and wait.....
and finally, after only 1-2 foot waves (praise Jesus!) are told we are still locked in the gates and are not allowed to leave....
and wait.....
and wait.....
Finally, we get the all clear to leave. Best part about evacuating only a mile from your house?? It only takes about 20 minutes to get home and you get to sleep in your bed that night!
Apparently, being the touristy place it is, the good people of Kauai made shirts for the tourist "I survived the tsunami"....they were plain (hey, had to make them before the vacation was over!!) so I didn't purchase one myself, but I am now fully prepared if it ever happens again.
I leave you with Aloha!
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