mindful muse

last month

2009-03-29T21:00:00.000-07:00

I just had my last spring break of my life...a whole 3 days off of classes! I got to go back to mn for a few days and saw amazing friends. I don't think I had an hour when I wasn't seeing someone. I love it. Also, went to Iowa to meet my roomie and ry-roomie while I was back...got an awesome "kum and go" gas station mug present! yes, I guess that is a chain of gas stations in Iowa, who would EVER have thought to name it that! Love it. In between hanging out with long time friends, I tried to fit in family bonding time too. Now I'm back in Oregon and getting ready to have a long day at work tomorrow.
The crappy thing about actually taking a "spring break" is that I fell behind in homework. I'm in the LAST month of classes, which means I'm working by ass off to visit AA meetings, write my dissertation/reports for class/practicum reports, and watch video tapes from my TA position. Pretty sure the anxiety is in high swing, so I'm hoping to make it through this month with all my hair on my head!

if you're bored

2009-03-14T20:25:00.000-07:00

I came across a pretty funny site today, maybe it's the psychology nerdiness coming out! But if you have a spare moment and looking for a fun website...check this out.
iamneurotic.com

I like it alot!

Enjoy

relief at last

2009-02-24T22:29:00.000-08:00

i'm moving to IDAHO for internship! and...I get to go with one of my roommates, Jen and her new future husband! not that'll we will be moving in together just living in the same town and at the same internship site :) yay!!! i'm so glad this terrible process is over

phew!

2009-02-20T17:48:00.000-08:00

i matched today!!! i got my email at 5:21 am that said "Congratulations You have been matched to an internship position." I was very relieved..at least half way. Now there is the stress of WHERE i matched. I get another email Monday morning that will let me know what part of the country and when I will need to move. so anxiety will be hiked up again sunday night.

match day

2009-02-19T16:57:00.000-08:00

tomorrow is the infamous "match day" for all psychology doctoral students in the country. it's the day that we find out if any of our interview sites liked us and we liked them enough to match and have an internship next year. i'm expecting an email by 8am tomorrow that tells me IF i matched...a yes or no if any of the internship sites I visited in January will be where I go. Needless to say, this is one of the most stressed i've been about anything ever. i feel that i've been good at ignoring the whole thing until this morning when my anxiety started to step into high gear. in an effort to not stress out i started looking for stress relievers online. the best so far is:
http://www.midnightfun.co.uk/modules/bubblewrap/

I particularly enjoy the creepy voice when you start a new sheet and the "manic" mode which is like rapid fire! next best thing to have a room completely padded in bubble wrap!

certified

2009-02-04T09:12:00.000-08:00

i certified my rank order for internship last night. nothing like the avoidance strategy of waiting til the last 24 hours...

Internship sites!

2008-11-13T23:14:00.001-08:00

FULL PASS

2008-10-22T23:10:00.001-07:00

got a full pass on my dissertation prelim...thus i'm approved to apply to internship, yes!!

essays

2008-10-22T23:09:00.001-07:00

just finished my theoretical orientation essay! only 2 more to go...research and diversity! woohoo

prelim

2008-10-15T19:20:00.000-07:00

i have my dissertation prelim tomorrow at 12:30! needless to say, i don't have a ton of time to blog about it since i need to organize my presentation. i have 3 potential options...full pass, provisional pass, or no pass.

flat tires

2008-10-05T12:17:00.000-07:00

One of the things that sucks about my days is that often other "business' hours" don't fit with mine. For example, I got a flat tire yesterday. My tires are not old and so are under some kind of warranty. The funny thing about warranties is you can't go to joe shmo across the street. The other "funny" thing is that the place is closed on Sundays, and closes at 6 during the week. Since I work 8-6 and don't get home til 7, I'm a little at a loss. This combination of events makes it near impossible to get my tire fixed before Thursday!! Can't wait until I have a normal job and schedule like the other 95% of the world.

to do:

2008-10-05T12:13:00.000-07:00

* find more internship sites to apply to
* write essays
* update CV
* calculate client hours
* find sample reports
* forum posts for class
* Supervision log
* Grade
* find a ride to work tomorrow

new stuff

2008-09-26T19:04:00.001-07:00

I'm missing my "roomie". I get to see her for dinner tomorrow...which reminds me I haven't called her...I'll call you tonight chelle! The next week is so, so busy and then I think I sort of have a week off. yay! my dissertation prelim is scheduled finally, so I'm meeting with my committee on Oct 16th to see if they like me enough to let me continue :) Also, their pass on my dissertation gives me clearance to apply to internship. So, just a little bit is riding on this!
I also bought my ticket for New Years tonight! It's going to be one doosey of a flight...leaving Vancouver BC at 8:20pm and flying all night to arrive in Jacksonville at 10:30am the next day! whew. Maybe I'll invest in one of those airline sleep sack things that I saw in the Inflight magazine.

whistler, bc

2008-09-25T11:25:00.000-07:00

I'm going to Whistler this Christmas with my friend Jen! So I've been trying to scope out some deals on ski jackets and clothing. I found this today at The House online. Great deal and SO cute! I ordered it today, can't wait for it to arrive!

hahaha

2008-09-11T22:23:00.000-07:00

The cockberg was photographed by Andy Rouse* in the Bransfield Strait near Antarctica.

fire retardant clocks

2008-09-11T22:09:00.000-07:00

So at GFU most of the graduate programs are at a smaller campus in the city rather than the main campus. However, my program is one of the only graduate programs on the main campus. We used to be relegated to a small corner of one of the buildings and tried to juggle all of our classes between 2 rooms. Furthermore we've gone through a lot of changes over the past 2 years. From trying to hold class in a room with literal jackhammers outside or cranes accidently breaking through windows, to being moved into the old hospital before it was ready and having empty buckets catch dripping water right next to our laptops. My cohort has seen it all to be sure!

With all of that you'd think I'd be happy with having a decently renovated building with our own space finally. But there always has to be someone create more red tape and stupid rules. Over the past 2 semesters all of our clocks in our classrooms have slowly been disappearing. It was until today that I found out our security people have been taking down our clocks because they are not fire retardant!!! honestly, wtf?!? fire retardant clocks?? are you serious GFU??? God forbid we have a fire and the 12" clock on the wall is the one thing responsible for burning down the building!

I found myself looking at the empty space on the wall all day hoping for the end of class yet not knowing how much more I had to wait...Also, I google searched for fire retardant clocks and I don't think they even exist!!

2008-08-25T20:07:00.000-07:00

"They are young, mostly girls, and they are slaves. They do not receive payment for their services, which are legion inside the massive warehouse. They launder bedding for an international hotel chain, fix watches for a Korean watch maker, manufacture fireworks for an American Indian reservation and stamp seals on plastic cups, which are exported to the United States. They eat and sleep where they work, and many have not been outside the building in years."

~http://freedomprojectinternational.org/

single and looking

2008-08-21T23:21:00.000-07:00

i'm looking for a cheap sewing machine if anyone knows of someone trying to get rid of one...

2008-08-21T13:08:00.000-07:00

the P.O. crew on the 4th of July

summer '08

2008-08-21T12:47:00.002-07:00

I only have 3 more shifts left at the crappy summer tux shop job...last day is Saturday and I'm so glad to be done. I've gone back every summer since I've lived out here and this one is the shortest so far. I'm SO done with crappy retail jobs with managers who don't know how to do their jobs and seem to think I care if we meet our weekly goal or not. ridiculous. and so this is my last week at mr f. and I couldn't be happier about it!

Summer has been great. I've been able to relax and have a blast with my good friends out here in Oregon. Also, had some of my favorite people ever from MN come out and visit earlier this summer! I can't say how nice it is to meet friendly faces from back home at the airport. It's refreshing for me and probably a little bit selfish. But I know it's not easy for them to get out here and I love them so so much. So I thank you guys, you know who you are!!!

Oregon adventures this year have been amazing! State Fair in Salem is coming up and I plan on seeing if they have as many "foods on a stick" as the MN fair. Also, I'm going to miss the butter carving of the dairy princess! Best 4th of July of my life up in P.O. thanks to the wonderful people out here that keep me sane and out of "school" mode every once and a while :) I don't know why I'm so lucky to have the people I do in my life! OH, and Dave Matthews at the Gorge Amphitheater is coming up in a week and I think I'm too excited to sleep already! omg...

Lets see...I guess classes start in about 2 weeks. That's got to get any grad student excited, right?!? Maybe excited isn't quite the word considering I've got to haul major ass on my dissertation in order to be OK'd to start application for internship. Plus, I am doing a year long Grad Assistantship which will be supervising 1st year grad students in their beginning clinical/therapy work. I'll have my own little group of students to supervise and watch endless hours of "1st year therapists" :) I'm also starting to look at internship sites that I may be interested in applying to...so if anyone has recommendations for geographic locations to avoid let me know!!

I also started my clinical practicum site for the year about 1 month ago. I'm seeing patients, all ages all diagnoses, at a big medical corporation in the area. I've already been putting in 14 hour days and it's been challenging. I swear I'll be ready for anything internship throws at me :)

So, those are the latest updates. Nothing else big, yet. More to come I'm sure

the best roomie(s) ever

2008-06-29T01:35:00.000-07:00

i got to have dinner with my favorite roomie (and ryan!) in the NW today. it was a great surprise and made me smile the whole rest of the night! thanks guys, i was missing you terribly!

summer

2008-06-24T23:59:00.000-07:00

supposedly this is summer in the great state of oregon. in all reality it sometimes feels just a little warmer than spring. but there is a ton more sunshine compared to the SAD (season affective disorder) days of winter. summer classes officially ended and i'm taking a few weeks completely off of anything academic in hopes to enjoy my last real summer before the workforce world and adulthood beckons. 4th of july is being spent with a friend and her family. i have heard numerous tales of fireworks and celebratory antics at their annual july 4th party. i'm way super excited and may or may not have bought a 5 foot inflatable pink magic dragon to use in their lake! don't worry...there will be pictures posted later - that is, after they are all screened for appropriateness :)

on another note, i came down with this weird summer cold thing and lost my voice. i now sound like this strange version of a 13 year old boy going through puberty that smokes several packs of marlboros a day :)

yay!

2008-03-24T21:06:00.000-07:00

My good friend Debbie is coming to visit tomorrow! My first real visitor, besides family, since I've been out here. I'm super excited to say the least. We're going to be hitting up all the typical pdx sites and seeing the Nada Surf/Little One's show at the Crystal Ballroom. I suppose I should clean up the house a little too...

St. Pats Day

2008-03-17T21:45:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Patrick's day everyone! I accidently wore green today as I rushed out the door from over-sleeping. And it was a good thing I did because every kid I saw today at work reminded me that it was good I was wearing green or they'd HAVE to pinch me. Pretty sure I would be black & blue on one arm right now. My guardian angel was looking out for me :)

2008-03-17T21:21:00.001-07:00

i talked to my roomie tonight. she makes my heart smile.

springtime

2008-03-11T23:57:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. I'm still alive, kickin', and trying to keep up with my blogging :) I have 2 weeks left before spring break and am looking forward to in so much. A friend from back home is coming to visit for a week and we'll get to see all the pdx sites, catch a show, check out mcmenamins, hike multnomah, and all the other great oregonian stuff to do! I can't wait to see her!!
Until then I'm still living the dream of graduate school. Or better put, feel like I'm walking through the dream of graduate school. I'm getting more and more excited for the time when I won't have a dissertation and reports for 4 different classes all on top of therapy and assessment work.
Oh! and Spring is fighting its way back to pdx recently with a lot of sun and warmer temperatures. So fun. I want to check out some new hikes when it dries out some more, and makes some trips out to the coast. Everyone is invited out so let me know when I need to come pick you up from the airport or meet you for dinner.

daylight savings

2008-03-09T01:58:00.000-08:00

I just watched my clock and phone turn from 1:59am to 3:00 am. Crazy! Don't forget to set ya'lls clocks ahead...

Need a good doctor?

2008-03-06T21:24:00.001-08:00

photo blogging

2008-03-03T00:16:00.000-08:00

this is such a great idea! two people 3,191 miles away from each other each post a picture "every" evening. from what i've seen it may not be weekends too. but a very interesting idea. the idea started last year with a picture every morning for 2007 between friends that live in OR and 1 in ME. such an interesting way to keep connection between friends. i love the idea and would love to try it sometime...
check out the blog if you're interested here....3191

where's my therapist

2008-02-28T00:09:00.000-08:00

stressed, stressed. I'm feelin' it today :) WOW. A lot is coming down the pipe in the next couple weeks and I have been tense all day. Now it's after midnight and feel a little too anxious to fall asleep right away. Interview tomorrow on top of two assignments and full report due by Friday. ugh. yuck! almost feel sick. I'll be completely fine in a few days...I won't die. Just need to make sure I keep breathing.

unlimited wishes

2008-02-18T21:50:00.000-08:00

oh my gosh! I think this is proof of how corrupt I am....this is so hillarious!

The federal govt owns my soul...

2008-02-18T17:04:00.000-08:00

I've passed a monumental milestone in school debt. I won't say how much because that isn't information that needs to be posted online. Let's just say I sat down and stared at the paper in my hand for a while. Completely amazed. I find myself laughing about how much it is because what else do you do?
So I'm trying to figure out how to celebrate such an event...if you have any ideas they are welcomed :) I'm thinking something involving a massage...

friday night wilds

2008-02-15T21:12:00.001-08:00

So this has been my project for the last two weeks. Started with what was supposed to be a "quick" saturday project back a couple weeks ago that didn't pan out. So I finally got the inside panel of my car off tonight and replaced my side mirror all by myself! I must say, I'm pretty dang proud of myself. I got the panel off, unhooked the old wiring, relayed the new wires, mounted the mirror, and put the door together again without breaking anything. I guess this doctor school might be starting to pay off :) If the whole psychology thing doesn't work out, I can have a fall back to minor automotive repair. There is however an inevitable hang up with any home project. After I got the door put back together, the window wouldn't go up. I went from feeling incredibly accomplished to feeling disappointed in about 1 minute. Which meant I had to re-do the whole job and rerun the wires differently, although more quickly since I had already done it once. And I probably saved around $100 by not having someone else do it. My dad would be sooo proud! No more wiggly side mirror and I finally get to wash my car tomorrow; perfect timing since I heard it might be 60 degrees and sunny.

Its on all day long...thats what she said

2008-02-09T22:46:00.000-08:00

February 15th 2008 is the official international "That's What She Said" day. If you don't know what it is...I won't explain it. I've got to come up with a great way to celebrate the day.

ripple effects

2008-02-09T13:26:00.000-08:00

I find it amusing that at 24, which I know is not old, I am at home for the second weekend in a row, sitting in my kitchen writing papers and reports. I think of the majority of people my age that are off work for the weekend, glad they made it through another week, and trying to relax as much as possible before Monday rolls around again. I however have been looking forward to the weekend for a completely different reason. My weekends are a chance for me to hit the books full force and, hopefully, get some significant work done.
These are the moments of my life that I wonder how one decision, grad school, has created ripple effects in so many areas of my life. It's interesting how one decision puts you in the position to make further choices that you may not have ever faced. And even though I'm at home for the weekend, most of these ripples have been good if not just a little unexpected (in good ways) :)

wanted:

2008-02-07T23:50:00.000-08:00

I am in desperate need of someone to volunteer for some testing for one of my classes. Soooo, if you or anyone you know has had a concussion in the past 6 months or has a neurological diagnosis like epilepsy, MS, etc it would help me out tremendously :)

year of the rat

2008-02-07T10:31:00.000-08:00

happy chinese new year!!

mt rainier

2008-02-02T23:48:00.000-08:00

the past weekend was spent in seattle with my great friends chelle and her husband ryan. we always have fun adventures...the most recent of which involved going to mt rainier for the day. on the way out we stopped at the "super mall" which is not quite as "super" as it's name suggests :). it did have a pretty awesome banana republic outlet store though, i made a killing there. as a result i've also cut back on any extra spending such as food and gas, haha. just kidding. the day at mt rainier was perfect, one of the clearest i've seen in seattle. we saw magnificent views and challenged the park ranger rules with our chainless tires. seattle is great and i love that i can hop in the car and see my roomie whenever i need to!

spiritual formation

2008-01-31T15:48:00.000-08:00

A spiritual life is simply a life in which all that we do comes from the centre; where we are anchored in God a life soaked through and through by a sense of His reality and claim, and self-given to the great movement of His will.
-Evelyn Underhill

first class

2007-12-16T22:45:00.000-08:00

i flew back home to mn last saturday and got to fly first class. i don't know exactly how this all came about...but when i booked my flight, i must've had enough flier miles to get first class. unbelievable. i got to skip check in lines, security lines, used the first class bathroom... so great! well, the bathroom isn't really any different but hey it was first class! i enjoyed it while it lasted but know i won't be flying that way ever again. so back in mn for a long break. i'm excited to meet up with my friends back here that i haven't seen in a year.

baduizm

2007-11-30T12:47:00.001-08:00

just ran across erykah badu's latest single "honey." absolutely fabulous. i downloaded the single and the album drops next february...produced by 9th wonder. i'm expecting a pretty sick album!

World AIDS day

2007-11-30T10:42:00.000-08:00

In line with this year's theme, AVERT is running the Stop AIDS in Children campaign to call for urgent action in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT).

Currently only 9% of pregnant women living with HIV in the developing world are provided with drugs to prevent the virus being transmitted to their babies. As a result, nearly half a million children become infected with HIV every year. The Stop AIDS in Children campaign is calling on governments and international agencies to urgently improve PMTCT coverage worldwide.

http://www.avert.org/worldaid.htm

2007-11-29T11:08:00.000-08:00

i am always amazed at how fast the semester goes by. around midterms i know it feels as if it will go on forever but inevitably finals come and another semester is done and the closer i am to being out of higher education. it's a weird thought, being done with school. when "student" is the thing you've identified with for 20+ years, the thought of being done is a little scary. crazy dynamic of approach/avoidance with the end of school, good thing i have year and a half left to sort that all out :)
life brings new unexpected things, which although take some getting used to sometimes, are what life is all about. i've been struck with the importance of enjoying where i am in life right now. sure there is crap that sucks sometimes, but above all else my attitude in the midst of everything is what determines how much i either love life or just survive it.

Schrute space

2007-11-21T13:24:00.000-08:00

I Do Not Believe in Lycanthropes

Seeing as it’s the second to last week in October, it seems fitting to discuss the major event that will soon be upon us: the full moon. This cannot taken lightly, as it only happens once every 29 and a half days when the synodic month is reset. It is also not to be taken lightly because of the havoc it creates around the world. FACT: more crime occurs during full moons than all of the other partial moons combined [source: imagination]. Makes you think, doesn’t it?

The full moon is also the time when the mythical lycanthrope, or “werewolf,” emerges. I do not believe in lycanthropes. I put no credence in the theory that a human can change into anything other than a decomposing human. Some of my relatives, however, fully trust that lycanthropes exist. Some have even claimed that they have seen them with their own eyes. They are obviously liars. They would have been devoured and unable to report the sighting. They also say that lycanthropes are especially attracted to Schrute Farm. False. The claw marks that we find the morning after full moons are from real wolves that enjoy the bounty of our farm. They are not from werewolves, no matter what you may have heard. Please do not let these rumors keep you away from the farm – it is beautiful this time of year. If you are seriously concerned, merely stay away from Schrute Farm during the full moon period and return as soon as the lunar cycle has advanced.

~excerpt from Dwight's blog

its been a long time

2007-10-26T11:03:00.000-07:00

i've had a really busy couple weeks with practicum, school, and work. i had my biological bases midterm from hell this morning and finished it about 30 minutes ago. i'm gonna celebrate tonight for sure.

thank you, bye

2007-10-04T13:40:00.000-07:00

a case of mistaken identity has ended me with the job of giving the invocation/dedication prayer at the dedication ceremony of my university and program's newest building. now, i do feel very honored that they would let me do this but i'm a psych. major...i don't pray in public. or even more importantly, not in front of the administration and faculty of my university. i have a month to get ready and figure out what i'm going to say...i have all kinds of thoughts speeding through my mind. what should i say? what should i wear? how long should i pray? what if i mess up and end it with "thank you, bye" like i did last time i prayed in public? breathe, breathe. ahhh...
and so i've been searching the internet for sample prayers that sound eloquent yet personal and fit with a quaker university. wow, i guess this is why ncu required everyone graduate with the equivalent of a bible minor no matter what their major! thank you ncu

season 4

2007-09-20T09:44:00.000-07:00

of the office in only 7 more days!!

nerd girl with a stain on her shirt

2007-09-19T19:11:00.001-07:00

what is so great about the tide pen?? i've heard exploits from all my obsessive compulsive friends about how great it is. so i bought one and was sadly disappointed in its results thus far. however i thought maybe i wasn't doing it right. so today i of course spilled mustard on my white shirt at school.... very obvious and very yellow. now i only had an hour left before my research meeting and there's no way to hide this mess. i'm glad my Jonathan wasn't around to make fun of me :) after a lot of dabing these are the "before" and "after" shots...maybe not a miracle but a heck of a lot better. that was until i spilled pop in the car and had to go home to change. hahaha

2007-09-13T10:45:00.000-07:00

wireless earphones are now on my wishlist so that i could watch episodes of the office while in class

swf in search of...

2007-09-05T13:43:00.000-07:00

WANTED: a dissertation topic with statistical significance. readily available data is a plus but not necessary with the right idea. creative, innovative ideas that lead to publication are given priority. sucky ideas need not apply.

Labor Day

2007-09-05T13:15:00.000-07:00

i had a fantastically impromptu trip to the coast with my friend Jackie on monday. it's been a while since i've had one of my random trips. chelle and i used to do crazy expeditions like that all the time when we lived together...super america is the best. so labor day was spent at the beach! we went out to seaside and cruised around there for a while. it was full of tourists on weird rental bikes of all kinds. then we went up to longbeach to see the famous "jake".
i never heard of jake before meeting jackie. to be honest, the place scared me. it reminded me of this tourist shop back home that we used to pass all the time on our family vacations. except this place had all kinds of taxidermy animals with two heads and gigantic deer heads on the wall. freaky. back to jake, he's a half man-half alligator (i'm waiting to get my pictures uploaded, so here's one from the internet)... after seeing jake, we created a gigantic sandcastle on the beach, pictures are coming. UPDATE: here's a pic of the sandcastle...

2007-08-28T17:22:00.000-07:00

first day off in over a week, so what does that mean?? my annual car wash. yup, i finally washed my car today. no more people mistaking my dark purple car for grey, yes that has happened before! first i had to spend about an hour trying to get my car antenna down. after a lot of oil, a phone call home, and the help of a little hammer i finally got it down....i don't think it's ever coming up again though :)
now i'm at a coffee shop close to my place using their internet. hopefully b and i will get our internet hooked up soon. in the mean time i come here or sit out on my steps to grab some "unsecured" networks. i'm sure my neighbors know what i'm up to by now. however, if they don't want people using their internet they should put a password on it...not my fault i'm resourceful!!

iphone shuffle

2007-08-07T22:31:00.000-07:00

beware of the f*bomb half way through if you have any tiny ones around.

35W collapse

2007-08-02T23:02:00.000-07:00

Thankfully, I have not received any bad news from family or friends affected by the collapse, but my thoughts and prayers are with the people who have been. I was at work and kept receiving call after call from my family so I knew something was up, especially when they weren't leaving messages. So I was finally able to talk with Jonathan, since getting a call into the Twin Cities was near impossible. Its crazy to see the pictures and videos and to have driven across the bridge innumerable times.

Dramatic Prairie Dog

2007-07-31T21:17:00.000-07:00

what the....thanks to sarah for making me almost wet myself from laughing at all the remixes of this crazy prairie dog on you tube.

there are all types of variations, but one of my favorite is at their site here. AND...reminiscent of the snl night at the roxbury...SO FUNNY!!

ikea

2007-07-25T22:42:00.000-07:00

there's a new ikea that just opened in portland today! i might go tomorrow, not sure if i want to battle crowds that much. but i'm so excited!! ikea + tax free oregon shopping= what could be better?!?

Britain Braces For Rubber Duck Invasion

2007-07-24T21:42:00.000-07:00

Toy Ducks Fell Overboard Cargo Ship 15 Years Ago

July 18, 2007 2:41 p.m. EST

Derek Kreindler - AHN Writer
Cornwall, England (AHN) - The first of some 29,000 rubber ducks that have been circling the world's oceans for 15 years are expected to wash up on a beach in England sometime soon.

The toys fell overboard from a cargo ship bound for Seattle from China in 1992, according to the BBC.

Their journey has given scientists a valuable insight into surface currents as they have been far more widely reported than the floating devices used be scientists.

"The ducks went around the North Pacific in three years - all the way from the spill site to Alaska, over to Japan and back to North America," said Curtis Ebbesmeyer, a retired oceanographer based in Seattle.

"This was twice as fast as the water at the surface - so I began to call them hyper-ducks."

The rubber ducks are expected to wash up near Cornwall this summer, battered and bleached by their journey through the waters of the Arctic, as well as the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

The ducks have floated along the Alaskan coast, reaching the Bering Strait in 1995. It is thought they were trapped by slow moving ice for several years since it took them until 2000 to reach the Atlantic Ocean.

A year later, they were tracked in the area of the north Atlantic near the location of the wreck of the Titanic. Some broke away and headed for Europe, while others have surfaced in Hawaii, Indonesia, Australia and South America.

Two children's books have been written about the toys, which have become collectors' items, and can command up to $2000 on eBay.

Beachcombers can easily identify genuine rubber ducks, as they will have the words "The First Years" stamped on them.

storms

2007-07-12T21:49:00.000-07:00

i miss the crazy summer storms of the midwest. the thunder, the lightning, the smell in the air. we don't really get those types of storms out here. that is definitely one thing i miss about home. however, tonight i'm sitting on my front steps watching a lightning storm. hurray. or as close to a lightning storm as we'll get. my neighbor just reminded me of the dangers of lightning...so considerate. she's such a fun neighbor.
the past week has been wonderful. i've been working, exercising, and spending some fantastic quality time with my roommate; he's such a great guy.

ac goodness

2007-07-11T16:19:00.000-07:00

i went berry picking this morning since i had the day off from work. there are berry farms all over the place out here. next stop will have to be some of the wineries in the valley. going to need a full saturday for that though.
its been SO hot here the last couple of days that i've retreated to the library to try and work on my dissertation. however, since i rarely get internet anymore...i have been here 2 hours and have yet to start research. haha. found some good new music that ben and i were talking about, so not entirely unproductive ;)

fireworks, friends, and new people

2007-07-05T23:41:00.000-07:00

i really and truly have very few regrets about things i've done or not done. i see who i am today as a sum of all those events and since i'm very happy with where i'm at in life...i do however have one or two things i have regreted :) one of such regrets was yesterday, the 4th of july. no, the 4th of july was not my regret. i won't go into the details here but needless to say i was pretty disappointed in myself. nothing life altering, for those of you starting to worry! but it makes me think about regrets. missed opportunities is probably a better articulation. a chance for something potentially good to happen and i had to screw it up. i suppose its one of those growth experiences that people have...? i'm kicking myself in the butt tonight though. we'll see what happens, its not over yet.

07.07.07

2007-07-05T23:38:00.000-07:00

I can't wait until this day of hell is over with. It is the busiest weekend for weddings for the entire summer. I guess everyone thought it would be a clever way to remember their anniversary, or they thought it would be lucky. I don't know. I don't really care. I just want this weekend to be over so work isn't so chaotic.

Logan

2007-06-23T18:42:00.000-07:00

My nephew Logan was born so I had to post a picture, very cute boy! He was almost 12 pounds, my sister in law is AMAZING.

weekend plans

2007-06-21T23:00:00.000-07:00

i've got the weekend to myself since my roommate is gone. took him to the airport this afternoon and now am kind of bored. i think i'll do something creative with my room. not really sure what yet...maybe some paint. chelle and ryan inspired me with their painting adventures. or maybe something else. it seems like a good weekend to let out some creative juices.

Mer M.A.

2007-06-19T21:17:00.001-07:00

i received my diploma in the mail today! now they can never take it back. now the question is what in the world to do with it?? any suggestions?

this 'n that

2007-06-19T14:35:00.001-07:00

i'm off to work. i have a feeling its going to be slow...SO if you know where i work and want to come say hi...
AND I just found out my sis-in-law was induced this morning so i'll be an aunt again soon. praying that the delivery goes smoothly and that everyone is healthy.

chillin'

2007-06-18T20:49:00.000-07:00

portland and me in the summer, ahhh. i'm finishing up for the year, the school year that is. it's the end of my second year of graduate school. i can't believe i'm starting the third year in just a couple months. i'd like to say i'm gonna have the summer off but the time has come where i can't ignore my dissertation anymore. so as much as i love the sun, the library will be calling my name. i'm also wrapping up my practicum site and reflecting over my experiences there. i've learned alot. also, i'm now a workin' girl once again. trying to support my extravagant lifestyle ;) the roommate and i are initiating the summer merriment in what will soon become the bdun-mer tradition i feel. sarah and i will be rockin' the suburbs this summer with some trips to the coast. had the first bbq of the summer on saturday with the 'hort. it's our second annual (with a third and fourth to follow) complete with everything a summer bbq should have and hillbillie golf. i have a feeling this summer will be different for me, i feel like i've grown in some small but very significant ways over the past 6 months. i'm excited to see what's in store for the rest of the year.

integration

2007-05-23T10:05:00.000-07:00

its interesting how the aspect that most drew me to my program is also the aspect that causes me the most frustration. it also makes me move further and further away from incorporating it into my practice with my clients. still processsing why this causes so much internal tension in me.

american idol

2007-05-17T11:19:00.000-07:00

how great was the maroon 5 performance last night?!? Adam is so hot

sbux

2007-04-17T20:58:00.000-07:00

i found a new study place. you'd think that in the this part of the country decent coffee shops would be around every corner. and for the most part they are...if you're in the right part of town, or don't mind endless "drive thru" coffee. but when a student is looking for some free internet and a place to study late it becomes more challenging without driving across town. and can someone tell me why starbucks, the largest coffee corporation in the world, doesn't have free wifi?? you can't tell me they are struggling for revenue. and i'm not talking the crappy t-mobile hot spots where you pay $8 for an hour. anyway, i found a place, decent prices, free wifi, AND open 24 hours (a must have). thank God.

the light at the end of the tunnel

2007-04-15T14:29:00.000-07:00

busy week coming up....last week of classes. this is always a nice time of the semester but crazy busy trying to finish up everything. also getting the pit-stop M.A. at the end of finals. have had a lot of people ask if i'm really excited about getting my masters. i feel great that i've made it to this point in the program but my ultimate end isn't my master's degree. its kind of similar to get a little pit-stop along the way. get refreshed, reevaluate how i'm doing, and then continue on for the next three years. parents are coming into town soon too, so i'm hoping to get things done in order to spend some time showing them around town.
also got to spend some time with some cohort friends this weekend, which was very needed for me. when school gets busy it gets hard to even see the people you live with sometimes not even thinking about other friends who are equally busy. i love my cohort and friends i have there. i'm an incredibly blessed person to have the friends i do and be able to be apart of a very unique community of students who are much more than co-students. i don't know what i'd do without these guys out here.

maps.google

2007-04-13T13:29:00.000-07:00

credit to faith/jen. i've always wanted to go back to Ireland, it's just that third direction that complicates things a little..."Swim across the Atlantic ocean". Only 3,000 miles, no biggie

enough already

2007-04-12T00:48:00.000-07:00

it is late, i've just now decided to put the books down for the night and go to bed. it comes to that point when you have to say enough is enough and go to sleep. classes wrap up soon...and that means reports, presentations, evaluations, and finals. i think it's nature's way of making students pay for their summer break. this will effectively mean end of year 2 with 3 more to go. time is flying by.

printemps

2007-03-16T23:51:00.000-07:00

i absolutely love spring. i love that daylight savings time makes the days longer. i love that it is still light out at 7:00pm. Today was the most beautiful day in a long time. The sun was shining, it was warm (relatively speaking) and i had all i could do to stay in class. days like today were meant for skipping class and driving to the beach. i'm pretty sure that was God's plan when he set up today. this summer will hopefully allow some time for outside adventures in between work and school.

a day at the capitol

2007-03-14T23:14:00.000-07:00

Well, today was advocacy day at the Oregon state capitol. There were meetings with senators and representatives, some of who actually showed up for our appointments and some who ditched out for more important things. I suppose if I was a representative I might want to skip out from listening to my constituents talk about psychology. We advocated for Oregon HB2800 which would provide limited prescription privileges for psychologists who receive additional training. YES! An additional post-doctoral M.A. degree would be required. whew...Talk about spending more than half your life in school! I got to talk about some of my clients (identities disguised of course) and the challenges they face by not having ready access to needed medications. There are some tremendous benefits that would come about from the bill if it got passed. A fair amount of people disagree with prescription privileges for psychologists however most that I've talked with have lacked understanding of what the bill is about and the training that would be required.
As much as I like HB2800...the day was a huge waste of time. We met at 7:30 AM, We had two appointments that took a combined time of, maybe, 30 minutes. And we were in Salem ALL day. argh. Not a good use of time but got me out of other "typical" wednesday activities that are NOT fun.

it's a boy!

2007-02-20T21:47:00.000-08:00

Yup, it's a boy! I'm so absolutely excited. I just found out a couple hours ago. My brother and sister-in-law are having their second child, which will be a boy!! I hope to get down and see the new nephew sometime this summer if time and money work out. I suppose I'm a well-rounded aunt now that I have a niece and a nephew on the way. While grad school and ife march by, the family is growing and makes it weird to be so far away. Speaking of weird...thinking of my brother as a father for a second time. Blows my mind! I've no doubt that they'll continue to be some of the best parents on the planet. Congrats guys!!

snow daze

2007-01-19T14:49:00.000-08:00

i was stuck in my house for two days this week because of snow. when i moved here i didn't think i would ever see snow here except for in the mountains. it was crazy...i left for work and was one of the only cars on I-5. weird to think when it was 9am on a weekday morning. i decided to not go in to work and came home, glad i decided to do it since roads got much worse later. i had what turned out to be a lovely 5 day weekend since classes were canceled due to the 3" of snow. it was so odd to be stuck in my house for two days. but i couldn't have gotten more an 1,000 feet from my house even if i had wanted to. so my roommate and i spent an afternoon building a snowman using all the snow in the backyard. we named him Seve. he is about 5 feet tall and may have a drinking problem. Seve is still standing but is starting to lean quite significantly. i'm sure he'll be toppled by the time i get back into town on sunday. so we made the most of the snow daze and are now starting to gather our courage to leave the house again. i'm on my way up to seattle this weekend to see 'chelle and ry. it will be great to see them and cause some tomfoolery ;) *side note - sad news also to the few of you who know ficus...he is on one of his last legs, its hard seeing him go downhill.

i feel crappy

2007-01-07T14:43:00.000-08:00

ugh, i'm sick & miserable. something bordering on food poisoning or the flu, i don't know.

the end of 2006

2006-12-31T18:39:00.000-08:00

i'm not so much into new years resolutions, i have never made one. there is just so much pressure on a "new years resolution" that it seems as though it is bound to end in failure. everyone resolves to loss weight, change jobs, or change something about themselves. but that comes around once a year, and IF you're lucky it might carry into February. however, i'd be a sorry excuse for a therapist if i said self-improvement and growth was unnecessary. but why set myself up for failure? rather, i prefer to have a running resolution to be aware of my own internal dialogue and my relationships with those around me. being aware of these dialogues, i want to make those resolutions throughout the year.

so...a couple hours left in 2006. began the year with my first clients and worked through cognitive assessment and beginning with clients at the jail. spring started with clients and feeling entirely "green". i got my feet wet and moved on through the semester. i've met some interesting people this year and surprised myself at times. the summer was crazy between the summer tux job, a short visit home, and moving a couple times within two months. summer ended with a new roommate, new house, and starting my second year in my program. i was able to get home for most of the holidays and continue to figure out the whole family vs. friends time when home. i love it out in oregon and feel so fortunate to have made the friends i have and be in community with some truly amazing people.
if 2007 brings activity like 2006 i will surely not be bored.

commercial christmas

2006-12-25T11:47:00.000-08:00

a couple days ago my friend debbie and i went to the ginormous mall of america and stumbled upon what is supposed to be the world's largest gingerbread house at 65 feet tall. one more reason to come visit the moa i guess. don't get me wrong, it was huge. it had animated elves, dot candies the size of me, and something like 5,000 pounds of icing. pretty cool. i really wanted to eat something off the house, just to say i did. how awesome to have eaten part of the largest gingerbread house in the world?!? i know what most of you are thinking though, "gross, you know how many other people have done that?", so no i didn't do it. i might have to go back and grab a dot if this keeps eating me up.

Ahh, the Wonders of Paxil

2006-12-21T19:52:00.000-08:00

I don't know what it is but I find this so very funny.

the good ol' days

2006-12-21T19:05:00.000-08:00

it snowed today! it reminded me of the days when i was little and it seemed to just dump buckets of snow. today was no blizzard by any stretch, but beautiful big flakes definitely brought me back. it's so easy to get reminiscent when i go home. on top of it...Christmas simply implies snow. the northwest is gorgeous and green but winter still means snow, cold, and ice to me. so to have snow a couple days before Christmas was great. when i was a kid i would dig snow forts in the front yard and make snow angels. maybe over the weekend there will be enough snow to build a fort. for tonight it's just a relaxing night at home in front of the television. it started out raining and so i thought i brought west coast rain with me back to the midwest. but it changed over to sleet and then snow. so with the snow today i decided to build the smallest ever snowperson and share it on my blog. if it snows enough i can dig out the snowblower for the driveway. at least it's not too cold; i haven't had to plug in my car yet!! thats one thing i haven't had to do out in portland. no nights cold enough to pull out the extention cord in oregon. no one seemed to understand why i had an electrical outlet hanging out of the front of my car. i've got about one more week here in the good city of mpls and then down to JAX to see the rest of the fam for new years. and then back home to oregon.

home away from home

2006-12-19T21:04:00.000-08:00

Here I am in Minnesota. And to my surprise, no snow! Looks like it will definitely be a brown Christmas, not even green like back at home in Oregon. It's been nice to reconnect with Friends back in Minneapolis but I'm missing my Oregon peeps already. I feel very blessed to be where I am in my life, and to have the chance to see everyone back here again. See you all back in Oregon in a couple weeks!!

it is finished

2006-12-16T09:44:00.000-08:00

the last assessment has been interpreted, the last report written, and the last exam taken. the semester is finally over. the semester that so many have described as one of the worst of the program. i spent 7 hours writting up my final report in order to turn in before the deadline...one of the shortest calls i've made yet. thank God for Sarah and having a much-needed relaxing night before i go back home. a three week break that i am so grateful for. then coming back to start a whole new semester with people, clients and classes.

eating, drinking, sleeping finals

2006-12-13T20:52:00.000-08:00

finals are this week. and of course i'm up writing a paper tonight, trying to finish so i can begin studying for my CBT final tomorrow morning. then comes the lovely cog/iq report...that will be a joy :) i'm anticipating the end of this week and the 3 week break that follows. i can't wait to see old friends back home and get some time to sleep. signing off.

grrr

2006-12-08T01:00:00.000-08:00

alright i'm trying to make this thing look semi-creative beyond what blogger offers for templates but i suppose nows a bad time in the semester to try and figure it out. i would kill to get the dang "suga's sample blog" off here but no idea. for now just imagine it says "mer's sample blog" or something like that. maybe my christmas break will give me more time

december 1

2006-12-01T16:25:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again. The post thanksgiving bliss of my birthday has arrived. I'm another year older and another year close to my 1/4 century mark. Birthdays get a little different every year, not sure if its a good or bad different. Just different. The library will kick me out soon so, off I go for dinner and after-dinner shinanigans.

Is that my final answer??

2006-11-29T12:53:00.000-08:00

Alright, I've got two hours to make my decision about what I want to dedicate the next 2 years of my academic life to. I get to go into my next meeting to declare my dissertation topic to the lucky and privileged future head of my dissertation committee.
On top of that, its crunch time with finals coming up in the next 2-3 weeks.
And I had THE most difficult and challenging session of my clinical life yesterday. I'm still processing through it, examining my own reactions and those of my client. Suffice to say, it was a great experience for me despite the range of emotions I feel about it.

going "home"

2006-11-22T23:32:00.000-08:00

Back to the frozen tundra today. I'm back home in the land of 10,000 lakes and fighting off jet lag. The first night is always the worst, ya know. I see the clock, and I know its ACTUALLY 1:30 in the morning yet my body isn't feeling it. Last trip home I was up until 3, wide awake. I guess I'll see what tonight brings. So I said to myself "hey, what else is better than to blog when I can't sleep and there is wireless internet just begging to be used?" So back home...it's a different feeling every trip I make back to the mother land. A lot of thoughts, memories, friends and family that make it nice to come back and also difficult considering where I'm at in my life right now.
Turkey day is tomorrow and I'm SO looking forward to the turkey-stuffing-corn-pie event that America has dibs on. Definitely a food and football day. Lots of relatives that I haven't seen in a several years are coming over which always makes for an interesting holiday ;) My cohortian fellows are getting together for some turkey grub back in the OR and I'm bummed that I'm missing out on it. They have really become my family away from home. Boy, I don't know what I would do without some of them. Reminds me just how much I live in relationship with people, how much my life is enriched by some of the most incredible people I've ever met. I miss them dearly. I am so amazingly blessed to be in the program I'm in, the house and roommate I have, and the support of so many people from my cohort and church community. Hmmm, interesting how that stuff just comes out. I don't take much time to think about it but I have a lot to be thankful for this year.

epic

2006-10-12T13:48:00.000-07:00

So I'm sitting in class and have arrived at a new discovery. I have decided to follow in the footsteps of the esteemed Emil Kraepelin. "Who is Emil Kraepelin?" you may say. Well despite being a newly identified hero of mine, he is most likely unknown to those not in History and Systems of Psychology. Kraepelin has earned my admiration and respect for being one of the first Clinical Psychology graduate students. Although he opposed my fav psychoanalytic theory, we hence share the same link of psychology graduate students. Unfortunately someone beat me to the punch in developing a fan club, see here

where did i put my hooka

2006-10-05T23:11:00.001-07:00

Baltimore, MD: A synthetic version of the marijuana compound tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) appears to reduce agitation and stimulate weight gain in patients with Alzheimer's disease, according to clinical trial data presented earlier this month at the annual meeting of the American Geriatrics Society.

Interesting use of pot, thinking we could achieve the same effects without the high. But hey I'm just a midwest girl...lead the way Oregon.

retirement

2006-09-30T22:12:00.000-07:00

today was my last day working! hooray for me. i'll miss my coworkers but enjoy the time off. i'm exhausted so this is short, good night ya'll

someday i'll be a doctor

2006-09-24T00:15:00.000-07:00

feel as though I've been running constantly the past month. school began and all that goes along with a graduate program... clinical sites, dissertations, random supervision and assessment. it seems at times that i'm going into a year long hibernation. however a hibernation where i'm engulfed with work rather than sleeping the next 8 months away. soon i'll be wrapping up my actual employment and becoming once again a fully devoted student. it will definitely be nice to have my weekends back to catch up from the week and hang out. the 10-12 hour days are wearing me down and i'm ready to easy up the schedule, even just cutting out the 20hr work week.
i'm expecting the semester to be busy, challenging and really good for me. the last couple weeks i've been working on a suicide assessment training for the Multnomah county corrections health department. been interesting to take a step out of the "student" role and into a professional setting and be able to contribute. the year will be a series of great stories and experiences, i have no doubt.

Need a good doctor?

2006-09-09T00:55:00.000-07:00

Saw this from my roommate...check it out. What a funny kid!

blogging hiatus

2006-09-04T13:00:00.000-07:00

So in an oddly survivor-isk fashion I spent the last month without my internet access. During which I realized how intensely dependent my life has become on this lovely invention of the www. Now I realize to some this seems entirely spoiled and hey maybe it is. However, I tend to think it demonstrates the change of generations. When looking for a cab company, or bus schedule, or phone number we immediately turn to our computers and mindfully forget that there's a phone book sitting on the top shelf of the closet gathering dust. So needless to say I'm back to my internet and coming back from my blogging hiatus.
With the beginning of school and settling into a new place I'm gearing up for the next academic year which I hear is a tough one and sends many a students into therapy themselves. Bring it on...

scorchin' hot days of summer

2006-07-22T22:53:00.000-07:00

This has been by far the hottest day in Oregon this year. I am sweating and have been sitting in front of this fan the entire night. Afraid to move unless I cause my body to exert more energy creating any form of heat radiating from my body. Its on days like this that I dream of air conditioners (if I can sleep long enough to dream that is) and spend my free time wondering around Fred Meyer. One could spend hours and hours wondering around that place. In fact you could most likely find everything needed for life there...food, clothes, security systems, and otter popsicles. yum yum.

bff??

2006-07-17T23:35:00.000-07:00

Tales of disasterous love abound, but there is something about a failed friendship that makes those involved guard it like a shameful secret. Even country music, with it's laundry list of heartache and longing, won't touch it.
But friendship is suppose to be made of sturdier stuff, a less complicated, more enduring relationship. Because of this, the story of a breakup with a friend often feels far more revealing than that of a failed romance. As if it exposes our worst failings and weaknesses. After all, an exfriend is someone who knew our deepest secrets and then vanished, someone we drove away or who chose to leave us. And still yet in some we see mirrors in which we desperately hope to glimpse a sharper and clearer, or simply more interesting image of ourselves.
Losing a friend is painful, even wrenching. A loss of this sort leaves a void that is impossible to fill, since it is impossible to recreate the quirks and qualities, the gifts and strengths, and even the flaws, that drew us to a particular person, that move us to chose one person rather than another, as our friend. Often this person knows a self we have kept hidden from the rest of the world, a self we may have hoped to retire or to pretend never existed. They know our history, and they remember it. And for this reason they continue to haunt us.

new beginnings?

2006-05-21T22:25:00.001-07:00

yet another blog is born...you may have thought there were enough blogs out there. however, there my friend is where you are mistaken.