Just the blahs

Hello friends!

It is yet ANOTHER glorious day here in Edmonton (5*C and beautifully sunny!). I have had a lovely day. Which I especially appreciate given how 'blah' I had been feeling earlier in the month.

In fact, my lack of motivation, hypersomnia, changes in appetite, and general 'Debbie Downer' mood had me a little bit concerned that perhaps I was depressed. Jason told me that I really wasn't being myself, and wondered if I shouldn't be seeing the doctor about it. Kathie suggested maybe it was just the February blahs. I really didn't know. I didn't feel really 'sad,' so depression seemed a bit much. Yet it hadn't been a particulary grey or gloomy month either, so the 'blahs' didn't really fit either.

It must have been the blahs. The temperature has risen, the sun has been out every day, and I've been feeling like a new person. Yesterday I ran outside for the first time in (I'm embarassed to say) months. It was more of a walk than a run, and I had an asthma attack, but I was out there giving my best and it felt really good. I ran again today and had a much better time of it. Short-ish - only 20 minutes - but that's still better than being a lump of lard on the couch! So I'm celebrating being active and enjoying the sun, and I'm looking forward to more days where I can chug down the sidewalk listening to some of my favorite songs.*

I now have a new snowboard, so tonight I'm going to put my bindings (peeing men and all!) on it. Tomorrow I'll head over to Snow Valley and practice up some more - hopefully a shorter board will help me to feel more in control, and I'll be able to figure this turning thing out. Let's just say I'm hopeful, if not expectant. ;)

My clinic partner has been gone this week, and I've therefore had 2 solo sessions. Tuesday's was excellent - I was working with just 1 of the 3 girls, and she achieved some good things. I also made progress on some of my personal goals (like accurately taking data and being really enthusiastic and responsive to her accurate productions). Today's session... well, I was nervous. And I rarely get nervous. I'm very confident in my abilities as a student SLP. I know my strengths, I know my weaknesses, and I can work with them. But today I had a parent observing.

In my heart of hearts, I am an old-school, directive SLP. I do my thing in my room, then send the child home, and the parents are excited about the progress. I write them reports, they read them, maybe we conference... but I'm in charge, and clinic is separate from home. If I had no guidance, this is how I would run treatment. This is NOT the best way to do speech/language therapy. I, as the clinician, see the client for maybe an hour a week. They, as the parents, see the child... well, lots more. Treatment is most effective when the SLP can coach the parents so that they can provide the treatment at home. The SLP brings the speech/language expertise, but the family brings the 'child' expertise. They know their kid. They know what motivates him, what frustrates him, what works for him. You help them figure out tasks that move the child towards his goal, and then they work on them at home as well. You coach, facilitate, advise... and work yourself out of the picture. The ideal SLP is the one who winds up making herself obsolete to each client.

So having a parent in the room is a challenge for me. I feel a bit intimidated, and a LOT overwhelmed. Now I have to run the session, manage behavior, take data, AND include a parent. That means explaining what I'm doing in each task and WHY (vital! vital! Otherwise people think that all you're doing is coloring. Or climbing stairs. Or making a cow 'moo.' They don't see that each task also has a communicative component), and providing the parent with a role for each task. It's so great if you can include a parent, demonstrate the task, and then let her take over. You also want to ask for her input about her child. Does this task suit her child? Can she think of something that might work better? Can she see herself trying something similar at home? Does she have questions, comments, concerns, or advice? Including a parent in a session goes beyond having her watch - it's a chance for EVERYONE to learn. The child at the activity, the parent from the coaching, and the SLP from the parent's expertise.

I was therefore very pleased to sit down with my supervisor afterwards and have her tell me that I did an excellent job. I missed a few things, of course, and would love a second opportunity to go further in talking with mum than I did, but I did a solidly good job of having mum in the room. I successfully explained the rationale for our activities, talked with her about things her daughter finds motivating and frustrating, shared stories about her daughter's previous sessions, and invited her to provide any feedback she wanted, either today in person, or in the future through a communication book. It went really well. Yay!! I was so pleased.

So pleased that I went to the knitting store and bought the supplies for a new afghan!** It's going to be dark purple with wide turquoise bands and narrow lime green stripes. So cute. The lady at the store told me that she "likes people who are adventurous with colour." That's me! :D I'm excited to get started on it, so I'm going to go and get started.

I'm so glad it was just the blahs... it's so much better to be excited and loving life!

Elizabeth


*The Killers - All these things that I've done
SheDaisy - Don't worry 'bout a thing
Lily Allen - Alfie
Usher - Yeah


**Yes, I have one that's almost done. It's currently in Wetaskiwin. As soon as I get it, I'll put this new one on hold and finish the old one. But for now... it's all about the casting on.

I don't think my red coat is going to match this board...

Maybe brown? Or orange? Or pink? It has to go with my new black skipants....

(Mine's got the pink bottom with brown script.)

Happy New Year!

Hello friends!

A happy 2008 to you all - it's been good to me so far, and I hope it continues that way.

New Year's Eve in Jasper was a really fun getaway. Our first day, the four of us (Jason, Aaron, and Megs) sat in the hotel room and played the Wii's Big Brain Academy. It was sooo addictive. And it was really funny - As long as the teams were 1 boy and 1 girl (didn't matter which), we were evenly matched. However, girls against the boys meant that the girls lost. :) My one criticism of the game would be the lack of language tests - I think a big brain is one with a good vocabulary! Some definitions, synonym/antonym pairs... things like that would have made it better.

Our second day was the day on the hill... and let's just say I didn't do too well. My inability to carve really bit me in the arse... or more acurately, my quads. Trying to heelside my way down the whole mountain didn't work out so well. The time has come for me to learn to carve, and this will require me to get over my fear. Think I could find a psychological snowboarding coach? :) If it isn't too cold tomorrow, maybe I'll hit the hill again.

Our third day, the boys hit the hill, while we girls lazed about, wandered the town, and relaxed. As it was New Year's Eve, we went out for dinner at the Fiddle River, and it was lovely. I had lobster for the first time - wonderful! We then crashed back at the hotel and watched Hot Fuzz. An excellent film. We had a champagne toast at midnight, and it was such a nice way to ring in 2008 - sitting with good friends, watching a good film, and drinking champagne.

We drove back the next day and attempted to find somewhere to eat some lunch. Not much was open, so I suggested the truck stop in Hinton. Jason says "are you sure they even serve food there?"

"Um yes - see the giant knife and fork on the sign?"

"Well, I've never really eaten at a truck stop. You're such a small town girl!"

Hard to argue with that, really. :)

My semester has been going incredibly well so far. Mondays and Wednesdays I'm at CUP, where I'm working on various projects and am developing an idea for a possible publication. Tuesdays and Thursdays, I'm in clinic, where I'm working with 3 little girls (all under 4) who have language delays. This is different from my client this summer who had speech difficulties, but intact language (can't remember the difference? Look here.) These little girls are darling, and I'm already enjoying working with them. Fridays are free for thesis work.

Some extra nice things? (1) My clinic partner, B, is fabulous. I just love her. She's hard working and efficient, and a complete pleasure to work with. (2) B and I are going to the gym together Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday mornings, which is lovely. (3) My proposal draft is completed, and is under final edits. I'm hoping to defend it by early February, and then get cracking on my actual research. Whee!

One sad thing is that Jason agreed to take social dance classes with me once a week (waltz, foxtrot, etc.)... but the class was full. :( There's only one class a week offerred late in the evening, the only time that Jason is certain to be free... and the wait-list is 6 couples long. Oh well... maybe next semester!

That's my update for now - have a lovely weekend!

Elizabeth

Progress

Hi friends!

When last I left you, your darling Ela was in tears at the bottom of the Snow Valley bunny hill. Since then, Jason took me for a second lesson, which was slightly better. There was a lot more standing, some controlled 'floating,' and even some appropriate stopping. There was not, however, a whole lot of fun. I was still really frustrated with my inadequacy, and Jason was doing a very good job of being patient with my cranky attitude. Leaving the hill after 4 or so hours of up the carpet down the hill, I was starting to regret agreeing to learn.

The Christmas season then leapt upon us, and I was kept busy writing finals and getting gifts together. My finals went really well - even the one that I wrote in 35 minutes. *grin* It was the last final, and I was SO ready to be finished. We had a really nice 'graduation' banquet,' where the girls looked lovely and the boys looked handsome, and one of my classmates delivered an absolutely perfect poem about our experiences as the class of '08.

Christmas was wonderful. Christmas Eve Jason and I were with my family at K & B's house. We ate a nummy dinner, exchanged gifts, and played with Jake's new Wii. Big Brain Academy? So much fun. Sadly, Jason wasn't feeling 100%... and he started feeling worse as the night wore on. Christmas morning we opened our presents for each other - I got him symphony tickets, Starship Catan, and Carcassone: The Castle. He got me Mulan, Finding Nemo, and Leonard. Who's Leonard? Leonard is a Warm Buddy sheep, and I love him. He is SO cute. SOOOOOO cute. And I love him deeply. He's wonderful. He's the best gift ever. :) I also got PJs and Christmas socks from mum and dad... and snowboard pants.

My old ski pants didn't like to stay up, as they didn't have a belt or drawstring, and the slid down off of my yoga pants all the time. My new ones are gorgeous, and they have an adjustable waistband. Well, you can guess what new snowboard pants mean... they mean it's time to try again. I mentioned that I was heading to the hill today, and my uncle asked if I'd like to take my two cousins along with me. These two Californian boys are both natural athletes, and had been once before, so I readily agreed. If it had required me to attempt to teach them something, I would have said no way. :) Jason had to work, which is too bad, so it was just the three of us who went out to the hill. And you know what? It was GREAT! The boys had a couple rough runs to start, then figured it all out. By the time we left, they were going off a jump on a slightly more difficult hill... one that I'm so not ready for yet. :) They looked fantastic.

How did I look? Well, not quite like them. I'm not a natural athlete, and I have a healthy respect for what gravity can do to me. That being said, I did a pretty good job. My drifting (the bit where you go down the hill from side to side) is looking good, especially heel-side. I need to continue working on my toe side control - it's hard to move from side to side when I'm so worried about mowing someone over. Dangers of going down the hill backwards, I guess. :) I'm also getting a lot better at standing up from a seated position. And the coup d'etat of the day is that I can get off the carpet, strap in my 2nd foot, and snowboard the more level portion of the hill. It used to be that I'd get off the carpet, UNSTRAP my 1st foot, and walk over to where the hill is steep enough for me to get going when standing perpendicular to the hill (the easiest way to control your speed). Now I can board that part of the hill by switching from being parallel to perpendicular. Because it's so level, I can control my speed while I'm doing this. The next step is to practice switching from parallel to perpendicular while going down the steeper portion of the hill.

It was so great to go out and spend 4 or so hours on the hill and to really enjoy it. I'm sorry that Jason didn't get to share my first day of enjoyment - given that he had to put up with so much crappy attitude earlier on. But at least now I'm feeling more ready for Jasper for NYE. I'm going to go tomorrow morning, too - and continue with my practicing. After that, I'm going bowling with my cousins which should be very fun. Possibly also painful, given how my arms are feeling after pushing me up onto my feet a zillion times today. :)

I am really looking forward to our New Year's Eve in Jasper. Turns out the hotel has a hot tub, which will come in wildly handy after a day on the slopes. :) Our NYE reservation is at the Fiddle River Seafood Restaurant, and it sounds like the food should be really good. Plus, the day that Megs and I spend reading and lazing (while the boys board the harder runs) is going to be excellent. I can sense it from here. :)

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, and I wish you the best in 2008!

Love,
Elizabeth

Wherein Ela is something of an idiot

As an attempt to apologize for the lack of posts (given the hectic semester), I thought I would share some entertaining stories with you regarding my various spectacular talents.

Ela is a Spectacular Skipper
A few weeks ago I was in thesis crunch time. My supervisors were strongly encouraging me to get a substantial (Ok, Ok, they wanted the whole thing, but I knew I wasn't going to be able to swing that) portion of my proposal turned in for edits, and there were quite a few demands from other classes as well. In light of this, I chose not to attend one of my 8am classes, and instead committed that time to wrapping up some loose ends on my draft. When I got to school, it was about 10 am, and the class I had skipped should have ended 10 minutes previously (8-9.50). As I came up the stairs, I could hear the professor still lecturing, so I headed down the hall to the washroom. On my way there, I bumped into one of my supervisors, and she pulled me into her office so we could quickly discuss an email I'd sent her the night before. We're chatting away, when all of a sudden I can hear the instructing professor's voice coming closer and closer.


Oh yes. Can you say awkward moment? In comes the instructor - she's demoing an amplification system to the entire class, carrying a microphone around to show my classmates how, if you forget to turn the mic off, people can hear everything you say. Everything. Including things like "Oh, Ela! Why aren't you in class?" Yeah. Uh huh. Hm. That was awkward. When I walked into class about 5 minutes later, my face turned as pink as my pashmina as all my peers howled with laughter.

Ela is a Spectacular Snowboarder
Jason loves snowboarding. Loves it. Every beautiful day we've had this November, he's complained because it isn't snowing. So when he heard that Snow Valley had managed to get enough artificial snow down to open, he decided it was time for me to learn. We went to Totem and bought me some used boots and bindings (the bindings have a little stick figure on them... and he's peeing. I think it's because the brand name is Liquid, but still! He's peeing!), and he had a board for me to use, so we headed out to the hill.

Those of you who know and love me know these two things about me: 1) I have no athletic ability whatsoever, and 2) I'm afraid of things that involve falling and hurting. Therefore, this whole thing of 'learning to snowboard' seemed a little daunting. Nevertheless, I was determined to be a trouper. Off we went. Snowboard on? Check. Waddling through the snow, dragging said snowboard, to get to the carpet up the hill? (It's like a conveyor belt in the snow that you stand on to get to the top.) Check. Buckling other foot into snowboard? Check. Standing up? Not check. I can't get on to my feet from a bum-sitting position. Jason pulls me up. We commence down the hill. I fall a lot. Only it isn't really falling, because I never get going fast enough to actually fall. I just sit down every time it feels like I might be going fast. Which is frequently the case. Jason is very patient, and encouraging, and holds my hands the whole way down. Yes, you read that right. He snowboarded down the hill in front of me, holding me up. He is amazing. I.... I.... I suck. Let's just be honest.

Next time up, I realize that I'm really quite good at standing up from a kneeling position. This, however, means that I'm facing UP the hill - as in I'll have to snowboard down it BACKWARDS, since I don't know how to turn. Also, I'm afraid of falling, so I'm hesitant to stand up straight. Therefore I'm sort of scooting down the hill, butt in the air, hands on the ground. The bonus is that I can look through my legs and make sure I don't hit anyone. Jason tells me that this is not adequate. I cannot, he assures me, snowboard in the mountains for New Year's Eve on my hands. Darn. I practice standing up. Now I'm getting Ok at going backwards down the hill. Can't really see anyone, have a hard time going straight (lots of weaving), and I can't stay up for more than 10 seconds before I panic and kneel down, but I'm Ok.

Time to practice getting up off my bum, right? I need to be able to go down the hill facing forwards. I try. And try. And try. And my legs are burning, and my butt is wet (my ski pants kept sliding down), and I am SO FRUSTRATED. I can't do it. Jason hauls me to my feet, and we head down the hill. I can now stay up for about 12 seconds before panicking and sitting down. Impressive, I know. We get to the bottom, scoot over to the conveyor belt, and the man in front of me says "first time snowboarding?"

"Yes."

"Yeah, I could tell. You're quite a sight up there."

.... Um... thanks? Geez!! Way to boost my confidence, mister!

"You should try... (insert litany of advice here)."

Yes. I'm so sure that I want to try your advice, part of which included 'floating down the hill like a leaf.' I'm not really a floater. I'm more of a 'tumble down the hill like a rock' kind of girl.

Back at the top, I'm trying to get up to standing from my bum, and it's still not working. I'm cold. I'm wet. I hurt. My ego is seriously bruised from leaf-boy (I had myself convinced that everyone was too busy focusing on themselves to worry about the crazy girl in the red coat with the peeing men on her bindings). And I can't. Get. Up. I am very frustrated. Tears spring to my eyes. But darnit! I AM BEING A TROUPER. Jason pulls me up, and we head down the hill. Towards the end, I lose control, and snowboard over top of him. My knee gets slightly twisted. Just a bit. Not very much. I cry. I try to stop. I AM BEING A TROUPER, DAMNIT! Nope. I'm not a trouper. I'm frustrated and I hurt and I'm tired and I'm crying and Jason is saying...

"Want to stop for today?"

Oh thank the Lord. Do I ever want to stop! Hurray for stopping! I'm totally Ok with stopping. Yes, yes, I'll try again, but we can be done for today! Jason has told me that he can teach me to do this in three days, and this is one day down...

"So that was two and a half hours."

What?? That doesn't count as a day??? Oh shoot, what have I signed up for?

I'll keep you posted.

Ela

And so begins the gentle descent.

Morning my friends. It's Friday morning, 8 am, and I'm not at school. I'm not skipping, I'm not sick, and no one died. It's just that we wrapped up our Augmentative/Alternative Communication class last Friday, and it's now done for the term. This leaves my Fridays open for me to get other things done, which is fantastic!

Today, for example, I'm going to an elementary school in Riverbend to give two presentations on hearing protection. I'm looking forward to it, actually. Our prof warned us to be prepared to engage with the kids about how hearing is important to us, so I was trying to think of examples that students in my classes might be able to connect with. Obviously, announcing that hearing my boyfriend tell me he loves me is going to make them gag, and telling them that hearing my profs teach is going to make them think I'm an obnoxious keener. ;) As I puttered around this morning I came up with two examples I think the kids will like. One, when I'm playing World of Warcraft I need to be able to hear the rogues stealth. For those of you who don't play (i.e., the 98% of my social circle that is sane and not uber-geeky), a stealthed rogue is character who's almost invisible, and who is probably going to kill you. Two, I like being able to eavesdrop when I ride the bus. It makes those long trips so much more entertaining! I'll let you know how those presentations go.

My thesis is coming along slowly but steadily. I feel quite good when I realize that I've worked on it just about every day now. I feel like I'm staring into a black abyss complete with a balrog when I realize that I'm meant to be done this draft by 'the end of the month' and today is 26 October. Someone needs to get cracking!

Yesterday was one of my CUP co-worker's last days, so we all went out for lunch. Over the course of the meal, my supervisor called down the table to ask me where my hometown was.

"Oh, I grew up in Wetaskiwin," I replied.

"So did L-----!" my supervisor said.

"Neat! Did you know Dennis Huebert? He worked at the high scho--..."

"Dennis Huebert? Like MISTER Huebert?" L----- asked, incredulously.

"Yeah, he's my da-..."

"Oh I knew him. I knew him well. I spent a ... fair ... amount of time in his office!"

It was so cute. You just never know where you're going to run into someone that your dad had to pinkslip these days!

Aaron (Jason's best friend and Megan's boyfriend) flew into Edmonton yesterday to spend the weekend here for his sister's wedding. He and Megan and Tish and Larissa all came over to Jason's to spend the evening just hanging out. Those three boys together are utterly ridiculous, and I do believe that Jason just about laughed port out of his nose while Tish came close to aspirating a large chunk of pepperoni pizza. Now that's the mark of a good evening. Larissa, Megan and I were much more subdued. ;) There was some talk of the six of us going to Banff for NYE, something the boys have done frequently, and that Larissa did last year with them. It sounds like it could be a lot of fun... let's hope that I learn to snowboard by then, so I'm not stuck in the lodge, by the fire, with a book, and a hot chocolate.... Wait. Wait just a minute. Not learning to snowboard is starting to sound like the better option here. :D