Things I Love Thursday

I have to admit, I'm having a bit of existential dread at the moment. In the past few weeks, things have all fallen into place so well and I am so terrified that when things are going well that I'm getting set up for something colossally awful. But here are some recent happenings making me grateful.

summer job - I thoroughly enjoy working with my advisor this summer and it's truly just a beautiful thing to have somewhere I have to be every day.

fall practicum placement - Last Monday my advisor had informed me that neither of the two interviews I had gone on for practicum had offered me a spot. I was extremely disappointed because one was a site that was really important to me. Turns out someone else turned them down and I was next on the list. I am crazy excited to do my fall practicum at the UNC Pain Clinic in Hillsborough. And very grateful I don't have to go on anymore interviews this summer.

mom visit - My mom will be here in one week! We have big plans for good food and high tea. But mostly I'm just happy mom and David chose to take their vacation here even though I know it's not the most exciting place to visit.

summer reading/training - A grad program cannot possibly cover all of the topics I am interested in being further educated in so a lot of it will be me teaching myself. I just signed up for several online webinars in topics I'm interested in, ordered four skills training manuals in specific therapies I'm interested in working in, and I have a two-day Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training in two weeks. I will stay busy this summer.

interesting class - My first online summer course just started and it's a marriage and family counseling class. I think the topics we're covering will be really interesting and I am super stoked to work on my first paper on controversial issues for modern families. I chose open marriage and cannot wait to start in on reading my articles.

personal trainer/gym - I figure that 15 pounds is about all I can expect to lose with just changing up my eating habits. So last week I joined a gym just around the corner from my apartment complex. I've also decided to splurge on a personal trainer for an hour a week over the summer. He's super great (and HOT) and I think he's going to be really helpful in getting me down to goal weight. Also started the couch to 5K program again this week and I'm already experiencing way less pain when I run. Hoping to be back in peak 5K shape when I return to Chicago in a year.

Things I Love Thursday

Vacation - So I just got back Monday night from a lovely weekend in Los Angeles. From my own personal observations, everyone in California loves dogs, tattoos, avocados, and pot and they all dislike sunscreen. The weather was unusually cool and their was a freak hail storm Sunday afternoon but I really enjoyed my time and am grateful to Aaron for hosting me and schlepping me around all over the place (Hollywood, Santa Monica, Venice Beach, Pasadena, Alhombra). If you're a morbid freak like me, head to the Museum of Broken Relationships, it's pretty fascinating. Also, happy to meet new people and make new friends. Mostly though, just enjoyed geeking out with tons of Marvel movies and Star Wars and the Food Network. Highlights were the crazy enormous sushi feast Saturday night, the fact that I drank more wine in 72 hours than I have in the past four months, and Lindsay's killer burgers with goat cheese and caramelized red onions. 

Employment - Being jobless this year has been really hard on me, not just financially but also just mentally shaking my confidence and killing my motivation. I need a pretty set schedule and having loads of free time leaves me floundering and spending a lot of time saying I'll do it later. Thankfully, my department offered me two part-time assistantships this summer totaling 30 hours a week of work. I also got great news today because my advisor hand picked me out of the group of summer research assistants to work with. She has some great projects lined up to work together on this summer and she even wants me to work on publishing with her. So excited.

Puppies - In case you have not been following, I'm getting a new puppy. My aunt breeds English Cream Golden Retrievers and I had always planned on getting one to train as a therapy dog some day. Max (Maxwell Kermit, Seraphim of LOMAH) and I met just a week after he was born and had an instant connection. The pups couldn't see, hear, or even walk yet but he started army crawling straight for me the second I sat down. This litter was the namesake litter, named after those who are no longer with us, so Max was a no-brainer when I had to name him. Turns out some day is now. Since I decided to make the smart financial choice and stay here throughout the school year and internship, I'm in the best place to have the time to dedicate to a new dog and I'm also in the best location to be training a therapy dog. I'm sure my girls and I are in for quite an adjustment period with this giant fluffy white boy joining our ranks but I am so beyond thrilled that I get to call him mine. 

My sister - As many know from my sweeping Facebook declaration, my sister is my whole world. She is the most artistically talented person I know and every time the world throws a new obstacle at her she just punches it back in the face and keeps going anyway. Every paper topic I choose, every bit of research I do, is all chosen to help me understand her world a little better. She is the motivation under my butt to keep working toward this career goal and fighting the systemic problems that make her life more difficult in any way that I can. I've told a lot of people that lately, especially in practicum interviews when they ask me what got me here, and I think they understand that I'm not doing this for me so quitting and anything less than excellence is not an option.

Hard work paying off - So my school has the weirdest grading system consisting of F (fail), L (low pass of 75%-84%), P (pass of 84%-93%), and H (high pass of 93% or higher). Needless to say, it's really hard to get Hs in your classes and, being a crazy perfectionist, I'm not particularly happy with Ps even though they're still great grades. First semester was a terrible adjustment period for me and I didn't see a single H on my transcript which was disappointing to say the least. I have been busting my butt this semester and, out of the three grades that have been posted, I'm looking at all Hs. It's really rewarding to see that I'm actually getting somewhere when I'm working so darn hard.