I've been looking for work with varying intensity since I arrived. It's been hard to find something that fits my school schedule and that doesn't require working on Sunday or selling something that very few people really need. A few weeks ago I was looking at the cost of the OT program I want to get into and decided that I really need to get motivated and find a more steady job besides working security at the U of Minn home football games.
One morning I thought of UPS. I'd heard that they helped students with tuition and that they were a good company to work for. I did some investigating online, filled out an application and was invited to come to the warehouse to find out more - at 4 AM. It quickly became clear that another time slot wasn't an option so I signed up. I guess if the shift is from 4 to 7 they want to make sure that you can show up at that time at least once. Along with three other people we were shown around the warehouse catching a glimpse of the different tasks and how it all worked together to get packages delivered on time. Those of us who were interested were invited back the next morning for an actual interview. Mine was at the more normal time of 6:00.
I've wondered if I'll be able to keep up with the rhythm of working from 4 to 7 five days a week. One thing is for sure, it will never interfere with my class schedule and they also say it will take care of any need for exercise. We will see when I actually get started after passing the background check and the FBI fingerprint check.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Retraining the brain
We have started studying the nervous system in Anatomy which I have been told is the hardest part in the class. But we don't need a class to tell us that it is amazing what the brain can do. I've seen it over and over again as I watch therapists interact with patients with some type of brain injury. A few weeks ago, Theresa asked if I'd help her with one of her new rehab patients who was recovering from a stroke that had strongly affected his left side.
"Sam" (I don't remember his real name) loved to talk and as soon as we got into his room he started talking. As Theresa and I went to get some things we needed she told me that the challenge would be to actually get some therapy in with him. "I'm going to learn a lot from him but my job is to give him therapy so he gets better, not just listen to his stories." One story Theresa asked him to tell me was about how the day after the stroke he had thought someone had placed the arm of a cadaver in his bed. Evidently it took his daughter some time to convince him that the unknown arm was his. He just couldn't move it or feel it.
As we helped Sam sit at the edge of the bed, wash a bit and get dressed it was obvious that he wasn't sitting up straight. His body was leaning toward the left. The funny thing is that it didn't feel that way at all to him. His brain was telling him he was sitting up straight. Theresa had me sit right next to him on his right side and his task was to get his shoulder to touch mine. Only then was he really sitting up straight. It was hard work and took great concentration but he could do it. But he couldn't wash his face and sit up straight at the same time. In fact he would have fallen over if Theresa hadn't caught him.
The last thing we did that morning was to get him into a wheelchair. Standing up was a challenge (as would be expected if you can't feel one of your legs) and a nurse came in to help with the transfer. Theresa gave me another pointer after she left. "I would have tried to get him to work on some things rather than doing it so fast but you don't mess with rehab nurses." Before we left I asked Sam if he felt like he was sitting up straight (which he was). He thought he was to the right of center. The tricks the brain will play on us. The wonderful thing is that the brain can rewire itself to compensate for lots of injuries or damage and eventually it figured out where the center was and Sam's sensations were much closer to reality.
"Sam" (I don't remember his real name) loved to talk and as soon as we got into his room he started talking. As Theresa and I went to get some things we needed she told me that the challenge would be to actually get some therapy in with him. "I'm going to learn a lot from him but my job is to give him therapy so he gets better, not just listen to his stories." One story Theresa asked him to tell me was about how the day after the stroke he had thought someone had placed the arm of a cadaver in his bed. Evidently it took his daughter some time to convince him that the unknown arm was his. He just couldn't move it or feel it.
As we helped Sam sit at the edge of the bed, wash a bit and get dressed it was obvious that he wasn't sitting up straight. His body was leaning toward the left. The funny thing is that it didn't feel that way at all to him. His brain was telling him he was sitting up straight. Theresa had me sit right next to him on his right side and his task was to get his shoulder to touch mine. Only then was he really sitting up straight. It was hard work and took great concentration but he could do it. But he couldn't wash his face and sit up straight at the same time. In fact he would have fallen over if Theresa hadn't caught him.
The last thing we did that morning was to get him into a wheelchair. Standing up was a challenge (as would be expected if you can't feel one of your legs) and a nurse came in to help with the transfer. Theresa gave me another pointer after she left. "I would have tried to get him to work on some things rather than doing it so fast but you don't mess with rehab nurses." Before we left I asked Sam if he felt like he was sitting up straight (which he was). He thought he was to the right of center. The tricks the brain will play on us. The wonderful thing is that the brain can rewire itself to compensate for lots of injuries or damage and eventually it figured out where the center was and Sam's sensations were much closer to reality.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Goda's Cafe
Being an unemployed student I don't go out to eat much but a couple
of friends wanted to celebrate my birthday by taking me out to eat. I
had read about Goda Cafe on the corner of Nicollet and 34th St and it
sounded like it would serve up some good East African fare for a good
price. We were not disappointed.
My first clue that we were in for a treat was that everyone in the small restaurant when we arrived was African. Moussa, the owner, started us off with a bowl of complementary soup. I took one taste and thought, "North Africa!" I'm not sure what spices they use but it had the same flavor, while being a bit different. After all Moussa is from Djibouti which is on the other side of the continent from Morocco and Tunisia where I have spent some time. Moussa served us with wonderful African hospitality. It may have helped that we actually knew where Dijbouti is (nestled between Somalia and Ethiopia) and that two of us had spent time in North Africa. Maybe only looking at the ethnic page of the menu helped as well.
After the soup we had samosa which are so good when they are made fresh. We all ordered something different for the main course so we could share and ended up with goat, beef and fish. All of it was good. It was my first experience with goat and I'd gladly order it again - at least if Moussa is cooking it. All of it was artistically presented and served with rice and vegetables that had been cooked to perfection.
As we ended the meal, one of my friends told him it was my birthday. He was soon back with cups of chaï and a few small African cookies. He kind of apologized by saying, "I could bring you some carrot cake or cheese cake but you can get that anywhere. This is all I have from my country. Guess what is in them." I knew in a glance that they were filled with dates (which impressed him.)
Later after we'd paid, one of my friends headed home while two of us continued talking. After awhile Moussa was back with another cup of chaï for each of us. I asked if it would keep me awake. "Yes, but what does it matter? It's your birthday."
My first clue that we were in for a treat was that everyone in the small restaurant when we arrived was African. Moussa, the owner, started us off with a bowl of complementary soup. I took one taste and thought, "North Africa!" I'm not sure what spices they use but it had the same flavor, while being a bit different. After all Moussa is from Djibouti which is on the other side of the continent from Morocco and Tunisia where I have spent some time. Moussa served us with wonderful African hospitality. It may have helped that we actually knew where Dijbouti is (nestled between Somalia and Ethiopia) and that two of us had spent time in North Africa. Maybe only looking at the ethnic page of the menu helped as well.
After the soup we had samosa which are so good when they are made fresh. We all ordered something different for the main course so we could share and ended up with goat, beef and fish. All of it was good. It was my first experience with goat and I'd gladly order it again - at least if Moussa is cooking it. All of it was artistically presented and served with rice and vegetables that had been cooked to perfection.
As we ended the meal, one of my friends told him it was my birthday. He was soon back with cups of chaï and a few small African cookies. He kind of apologized by saying, "I could bring you some carrot cake or cheese cake but you can get that anywhere. This is all I have from my country. Guess what is in them." I knew in a glance that they were filled with dates (which impressed him.)
Later after we'd paid, one of my friends headed home while two of us continued talking. After awhile Moussa was back with another cup of chaï for each of us. I asked if it would keep me awake. "Yes, but what does it matter? It's your birthday."
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Watching Jane
I spent Wednesday afternoon with Jane, the 11-month daughter of a couple in my church. I wasn't quite sure how she would respond to me since I haven't spent much time with her but when I went to rescue her from her crib after her midday nap she greeted me with a broad smile. We had a grand time together even though I did all the talking. We played with toys, read books (with Jane turning the pages), looked out the window (the weather wasn't fit for a walk) and I tried to get her down for a nap. On the first attempt I didn't have enough milk in the bottle so her eyes popped open as soon as it ran out and she was up for another 45 minutes.
My time with Jane reminded me of several conversations recently with friends about God's love and grace. There is something about small children that is just precious. Even when I needed to correct Jane she was still precious. "No Jane, you don't want to stick your finger in the outlet... You don't want to eat my statistics book... You REALLY don't want to put the strap from my backpack in your mouth. It has been on the floor in some very dirty places..." I guess you could say that I corrected her simply to protect her and I wanted to protect her because she is so precious. She hasn't done anything to be precious. She just is and that's enough.
I think God looks at us in much the same way only more so. It's because we are so precious to him that he sets some limits, corrects us when needed and puts up some barriers to keep us from going where we think we really want to be. None of it comes out of condemnation as if he's impatiently waiting for us to get our act together. It's all out of love and grace. I'm precious to him and because of that he's looking out for me. That's something I need to hear this week.
My time with Jane reminded me of several conversations recently with friends about God's love and grace. There is something about small children that is just precious. Even when I needed to correct Jane she was still precious. "No Jane, you don't want to stick your finger in the outlet... You don't want to eat my statistics book... You REALLY don't want to put the strap from my backpack in your mouth. It has been on the floor in some very dirty places..." I guess you could say that I corrected her simply to protect her and I wanted to protect her because she is so precious. She hasn't done anything to be precious. She just is and that's enough.
I think God looks at us in much the same way only more so. It's because we are so precious to him that he sets some limits, corrects us when needed and puts up some barriers to keep us from going where we think we really want to be. None of it comes out of condemnation as if he's impatiently waiting for us to get our act together. It's all out of love and grace. I'm precious to him and because of that he's looking out for me. That's something I need to hear this week.
The Lord your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.
Zephaniah 3:17
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Anatomy lab practical 1
On the first day of anatomy lab the professor told us that he was giving us all the answers to the test. That sounds easy--until you remember you have to match the right answer with the right question. The "answers" for our first lab practical coming up on Tuesday are found on 18 pages, each with a list of 20 or so anatomical items. Our job on this test is to be able to identify the type of tissue (as seen through a microscope) or the specific bone (a physical model) as well as certain details on each. An example is in order.
The humerus is the bone in the upper arm. It is fairly easy to identify because it has a ball on one end that isn't as completely chiseled as the ball on the femur. The challenge is to remember the 13 items we need to not only identify on the humerus but also spell correctly. Some are rather easy; the ball is called the head. (Sounds very scientific, doesn't it?) Some are more difficult; the indentation on the back side of the bone on the elbow end is called the olecranon fossa. Add to that the coronoid fossa and the radial fossa on the front and there are three indentations to keep straight. It's actually not that bad - as long as one remembers that the olecranon process on the ulna attaches to the olecranon fossa on the humerus forming the pointed elbow and the radius is on the outside of the arm (when the palm is facing up). The fossa (indentation) that is left is the coronoid fossa, not to be confused with the coracoid which is on the scapula.
So that is about half of one bone down. Only 44 more to go. And we haven't even got to figuring out a way to remember what all those holes in the underside of the skull are called. Would that be the optic canal or the superior orbital fissure? Is that the foramen rotundum, the foramen ovale, the foramen spinosum or the jugular foramen? I'll assume that everyone could identify the foramen magnum (the BIG hole) since that's where the spinal column passes.
Long story short, I have my work cut out for me between now and Tuesday morning at 8 am.
The humerus is the bone in the upper arm. It is fairly easy to identify because it has a ball on one end that isn't as completely chiseled as the ball on the femur. The challenge is to remember the 13 items we need to not only identify on the humerus but also spell correctly. Some are rather easy; the ball is called the head. (Sounds very scientific, doesn't it?) Some are more difficult; the indentation on the back side of the bone on the elbow end is called the olecranon fossa. Add to that the coronoid fossa and the radial fossa on the front and there are three indentations to keep straight. It's actually not that bad - as long as one remembers that the olecranon process on the ulna attaches to the olecranon fossa on the humerus forming the pointed elbow and the radius is on the outside of the arm (when the palm is facing up). The fossa (indentation) that is left is the coronoid fossa, not to be confused with the coracoid which is on the scapula. So that is about half of one bone down. Only 44 more to go. And we haven't even got to figuring out a way to remember what all those holes in the underside of the skull are called. Would that be the optic canal or the superior orbital fissure? Is that the foramen rotundum, the foramen ovale, the foramen spinosum or the jugular foramen? I'll assume that everyone could identify the foramen magnum (the BIG hole) since that's where the spinal column passes.
Long story short, I have my work cut out for me between now and Tuesday morning at 8 am.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
A typical week
People often used to ask me what my typical day was like. I usually responded, "I don't have one." Days are more typical now and my week is definitely predictable as well.
Monday: I have class in the morning followed by some time in the Learning Center with the models for Anatomy to get ready for Anatomy lab on Tues morning. I usually go grocery shopping on Mon and spend the rest of the afternoon studying. If all goes well I get some exercise before it gets dark.
Tuesday: I have class from 8 to 11. By the time 10:30 rolls around I'm starting to eye the clock. I don't think any Anatomy teacher could hold my attention for that long as my brain is rather full at that point. I have another class at 2:30 but I have time to come home, eat and do some studying. It helps that I'm less than 10 minutes from school by bike. This past week was livened up by a sunset walk around Lake Harriet with a friend.
Wednesday: I have one class in the morning beginning at 9:45. The rest of the afternoon is mine to study. I'm part of a home group that meets at 6:00 and sometimes I need to prepare food in the afternoon.
Thursday: See Tuesday. My class schedule is the same except I don't have Anatomy lab at 8:00. That makes it easier to pay attention during lecture.
Friday: I don't have any classes on Friday which makes it a great day to do my volunteer work in the OT department at the hospital. I'm there from 8 to 12. This past week I began tutoring 8 students in French as part of a homeschool co-op. They are all studying French so my role is to help them with oral comprehension and speaking. The challenge will be working with numerous levels all at the same time. This will be every other week on Friday afternoon. The other weeks are a great opportunity for a long bike ride.
Saturday: This fall I'll be working security at the University of Minnesota home football games. Yesterday I was there for 8 hours which involved at least 6 hours of standing near an elevator in a premium seating section. My basic task was telling people where the bathrooms and water fountains were and advising them to take the stairs when the elevators were shut down to allow the coaches to get from the field to their boxes and vice versa. Things were slow enough that I was able to review some of my anatomy flash cards.
Sunday: I do my best to keep this a quiet day, or at least a day of no studying. Besides church I try to get together with some friends. It's often my only chance to read something for pleasure or to get out my guitar. Today I spent the afternoon with some extended family.
Monday: I have class in the morning followed by some time in the Learning Center with the models for Anatomy to get ready for Anatomy lab on Tues morning. I usually go grocery shopping on Mon and spend the rest of the afternoon studying. If all goes well I get some exercise before it gets dark.
Tuesday: I have class from 8 to 11. By the time 10:30 rolls around I'm starting to eye the clock. I don't think any Anatomy teacher could hold my attention for that long as my brain is rather full at that point. I have another class at 2:30 but I have time to come home, eat and do some studying. It helps that I'm less than 10 minutes from school by bike. This past week was livened up by a sunset walk around Lake Harriet with a friend.
Wednesday: I have one class in the morning beginning at 9:45. The rest of the afternoon is mine to study. I'm part of a home group that meets at 6:00 and sometimes I need to prepare food in the afternoon.
Thursday: See Tuesday. My class schedule is the same except I don't have Anatomy lab at 8:00. That makes it easier to pay attention during lecture.
Friday: I don't have any classes on Friday which makes it a great day to do my volunteer work in the OT department at the hospital. I'm there from 8 to 12. This past week I began tutoring 8 students in French as part of a homeschool co-op. They are all studying French so my role is to help them with oral comprehension and speaking. The challenge will be working with numerous levels all at the same time. This will be every other week on Friday afternoon. The other weeks are a great opportunity for a long bike ride.
Saturday: This fall I'll be working security at the University of Minnesota home football games. Yesterday I was there for 8 hours which involved at least 6 hours of standing near an elevator in a premium seating section. My basic task was telling people where the bathrooms and water fountains were and advising them to take the stairs when the elevators were shut down to allow the coaches to get from the field to their boxes and vice versa. Things were slow enough that I was able to review some of my anatomy flash cards.
Sunday: I do my best to keep this a quiet day, or at least a day of no studying. Besides church I try to get together with some friends. It's often my only chance to read something for pleasure or to get out my guitar. Today I spent the afternoon with some extended family.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Labor Day
In my family Labor Day was always about laboring. Mom always had a list of things for us to do. I don't really remember the contents of the list but it was different from the usual Saturday cleaning. I think it probably involved washing some windows and doing some work in the garden.
In keeping with family tradition, I had a list of things for my parents to help me with when they came to visit this weekend. By the time they left this afternoon the apartment looked quite different. There are curtains at the dining room window hiding the view of the wall that is 2 yards away. There are pictures on the walls making it look much more homey and putting some color into our lives. I even figured out how to get out the screens and storm windows so two of the front windows could be washed.
Saturday we made two trips to Home Depot to figure out the best/most inexpensive way to add more counter and storage space to the kitchen. In the end we added 74 inches of workspace to the 21 inches we already had. Dad made numerous trips to the hardware store a couple of blocks away. They definitely recognized him by the end of the weekend. The other project was getting the basement store room organized and putting up a hook so one of our three bikes can be off the floor.
It wasn't all work and no play. Saturday afternoon we went to cousin Levi's football game at Bethel. Last year I went to a game but he stood on the sidelines in street clothes because of a knee injury. It was good to get to see him actually play and he was easy to spot being the only one on the defensive line with two knee braces. After the game we had a leisurely visit with cousins Janet and Eric complete with mint tea.
In keeping with family tradition, I had a list of things for my parents to help me with when they came to visit this weekend. By the time they left this afternoon the apartment looked quite different. There are curtains at the dining room window hiding the view of the wall that is 2 yards away. There are pictures on the walls making it look much more homey and putting some color into our lives. I even figured out how to get out the screens and storm windows so two of the front windows could be washed.
Saturday we made two trips to Home Depot to figure out the best/most inexpensive way to add more counter and storage space to the kitchen. In the end we added 74 inches of workspace to the 21 inches we already had. Dad made numerous trips to the hardware store a couple of blocks away. They definitely recognized him by the end of the weekend. The other project was getting the basement store room organized and putting up a hook so one of our three bikes can be off the floor.
It wasn't all work and no play. Saturday afternoon we went to cousin Levi's football game at Bethel. Last year I went to a game but he stood on the sidelines in street clothes because of a knee injury. It was good to get to see him actually play and he was easy to spot being the only one on the defensive line with two knee braces. After the game we had a leisurely visit with cousins Janet and Eric complete with mint tea.
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