Update

I'm long overdue for an update - but I am low on energy and will keep this brief for now.

I have a dog - Maddie, my new little corgi, has been mine for about three weeks now.

I have a job - I am working a contract position in a rehab hospital in Cheyenne. So for 13 weeks this is my home.

I am living alone for the first time - ever. It is a strange combination of comfortable and uncomfortable. I have to get used to being around only me. The dog helps. I decided not to get tv. There are so many things that I've said I'd do "when I have the time." So far, I've been unpacking boxes....but presumably I'll do some of those things soon.

And I am still searching for what I will do once these 13 weeks are over.

I'll fill in details later, but for now at least there is something!

How much?!

I have seen the most recent numbers for the total amount that I now owe to the federal government for my student loans.

Part of me wonders now, had I known when I started college that this would be the total (growing total) that I now owe, would I have still done college?...grad school?

So at my current monthly payment, I should have the loans paid off by the year 2019.

.........sigh. Tara, maybe I'll be taking that $75/hr job in Alaska now.

craft-cocaine

I was in a discount store and saw discounted blank scrapbooks, and discounted papers, and discounted stickers and so on. For a very reasonable price I was able to purchase a book, papers, and a few embellishments - all coordinated to eliminate the need to buy more later.

I have come to learn two things:

* Scrapbooking takes FOREVER
* There is always something more that you think you might need to make the perfect page.

I am sticking to the discounted items....but let me confess that the checkers at the craft store know my name.

I've been tagged!

My friend, Tara, tagged me! Here are the rules as well as my responses:



1. I love to read. I really enjoy starting a book and being completely wrapped up in it. But I am terrible about finishing a book. Perhaps part of my problem is that I don't want an enjoyable book to end! So I have a bookshelf filled with books I've read - most of the way through!

2. I start a new job in a few weeks and am terribly nervous about being on my own. I am afraid that I will end up walking the halls of the hospital without a clue as to what I should do with my patients. I know this won't happen, but it is still my fear.

3. My most silly pet-peeves are drivers who drive with their blinker on, but don't turn or change lanes; and drivers who like to declare how big of a fan they are by placing a team logo sticker on their car - but are not fan enough to know how to put it on straight.

4. My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. One reason is because many of my family members have November or early December birthdays. So Thanksgiving becomes a mini reunion as well as a great meal! Also, while many other holidays have become commercialized and involve the potential for gift-giving-stress, it seems that Thanksgiving is still about reflecting on all that there is to be thankful for and spending time with friends and family.

5. My friends are amazing. We all used to live reasonably close to each other, but the past few years have found us geographically scattered. Michigan, Utah, Hawaii, Louisiana, Oregon, Montana, South Dakota....it is weird to think that most of my friends don't live near me anymore but thanks to cell phones (I love the Verizon in-network calling!) we are still involved in each others' lives!

6. I have a fear of bears/mountain lions that has no real cause. I know it is good to have a healthy respect for natural predators, but I have never seen a bear or lion. I love camping and backpacking - so when I am in my tent at night listening to the sounds of the forest, I convince myself that it is a bear lurking.

7. I started knitting a baby blanket for a friend of mine when I found out she was pregnant. Her baby is now 7 months old. When I had another friend become pregnant, I thought I'd finish the blanket and give it to her. Her baby is now 4 months old. I have another friend who has carried and birthed her baby. Still no blanket. Knitting a baby blanket on size 7 needles takes a long time! I might not be fast, but I am persistent!

I am tagging: Bob, Megan, Andrea, Kami

Headhunters

Within 2 hours of posting my resume online I received my first call. By noon the following day I had received 20 calls. Now, still only one week later, I am constantly hearing the ring of my own cell phone.

I have begun keeping a spreadsheet to track each contact, with each company, what jobs they have to offer, the pay, the location....and so on. With all of the jobs out there, it seems that Colorado is apparently all stocked up on OTs. I've heard many reasons including no required licensure, great environment, close to OT program...and so on. No one is optimistic that I will find a job in the area.

It is kind of fun to talk about different locations with these recruiters. So far I've leared where Farmington, NM...Gallipolis, OH...Zanesville, OH...are located as well as considered the coast of Maine, Portland, Tennessee, Nevada, Utah...even now I am on the phone with a recruiter who just called....They may have toll-free numbers, but I still have to keep an eye on my cell phone minutes.

So I am hoping to stay in this area and at the same time find a job that will be a good fit for me personally and in terms of career development.

Fall, Bugling, and Silly Questions

Last weekend Rob and I drove to Rocky Mt. National Park to see the leaves and hear the elk. It was a wonderful day, nicely timed to see the beginning of the leaves changing. Even the drive up the canyon was prettier than I remembered.

In the park we enjoyed the expected clumps of tourists gawking at some elk standing near the side of the road. There was one woman in particular who was not shy or quiet with her wildlife comments - about and to the animals! A few days later I saw a bit on the local news with an interview of a park ranger. This ranger said he'd been overwhelmed with the silly nature of some of the questions tourists would ask. "How old are the deer when they turn into elk?" Or similarly, "At what elevation do deer become elk?" While there might not be any stupid questions, I still think there are definitely silly ones!

And yes, there were many elk. While I had been into the park several times before, this was the first time that I'd heard the elk bugle! It was amazing to sit watching a bull with his cows and hear him call to another bull out of sight and hear that bull call back.

The last thing we did was hike to Cub Lake. I had done this hike with my dad about 10 years ago and have wanted to go back from the moment we left. It was a short hike, still longer than I remembered, and well worth the effort to reach the lake again!

October

It is October 1, and that means it is time to add another goal to the list!

I talked to Connie (my friend and teammate in monthly goals) and mentioned that I would like to expand the scope of my goals beyond just exercise and food related ones for a few reasons. First off, life is more than food and exercise. Secondly, I feel like I would be better able to incorporate goals without burn-out if they all don't center around food. Spacing those food/exercise goals out among ones of other areas might allow me more time to incorporate them as habits rather than rushing onto another facet of food consumption.

So, my goal for October is to be a daily flosser. I know, exciting!