Boring boring boring boring boring…. FIELDWORK AUGH

I got back into Memphis tonight around 530pm. Thanks Suzanne and Arnie for hosting me!! I unpacked and organized for a few hours and then headed to Kerri's and Brent's to spend the night even though they are gone – I have a dentist appointment at 9am tomorrow about 2 minutes from their house so I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone by A) giving their cat some loving and B) not getting up extra early just to have my teeth tortured.

Their cat is freaking me out though, because first she spent a long time meowing at the top of the game closet, and then a giant flying cockroach attacked us, and well, it's just not been the most relaxing night, hopefully I won't be eaten by a ghost next.

I've also spent about 5 hours today working on an OT Practice Article….it seemed like it would be so easy….guess what, it's of course never that simple! I've stopped for the night and am waiting for feedback from some trusted OT advisers. 🙂

I'm lying on the floor on my tummy with my laptop staring at the kitty and writing this e-mail…I think I've had enough action for one day and should go to sleep.

Tomorrow:
9am Dentist
10amish-130pmish – see my friend Sarah + fam
2pm – meet fieldwork coordinator Lisa to discuss some questions
3pmish – Go to St. Jude for database entry
6pmish(?) – invited to a friend's house for dinner
BREAKING NEWS UPDATE:  THEY NOW MAKE CROCS WITH HEELS THE WORLD HAS ENDED
9pmish??? See other friends??
+ grocery shop + work on OT articles + who knows

My plan for the next few day involves seeing friends, getting lots of errands run, finishing up these two articles, and getting prepared for my first Level II Fieldwork…sooo scared…I don't feel scared during the day but at night I have lots of nightmares about it. Almost every nightmare involves freaky things at a local children's hospital. Like having to go through tiny tiny passageways…I always wake up suffocating! Yuck!!

Ways I want to prepare include…figuring out some healthy meals and snacks to ward off the nervousness-induced hypoglycemia…getting some cold packs to ward off the nervousness-induced temperature regulation issues that make me feel like a furnace…getting my house and life in order to help keep me calm…like figuring out how to get to the place, getting my scrubs in order, blah blah blah….and then studying up on common pediatric diagnoses, and developmental assessments like the Peabody, and even doing some silly homework like reviewing names of the Wiggles, VeggieTales, Doodlebops…etc. LOL. The more prepared I feel, the less anxious I feel…and since I'll be pretty anxious no matter what, I gotta focus on the things I can control to help give me a little bit of peace at least! I don't like change or new things…and to know that the next 9 months is nothing BUT new challenges every day, is REALLY SCARY TO ME!!! It's like living my year in Norway all over again – every day had a new challenge….and it was one of the best years of my life but also one of the hardest and scariest. Maybe it won't be that bad. I am too hard on myself.

Ok…to study….I guess Down's syndrome, CP, autism/spectrum, sensory processing disorder, mental retardation, and hmmmm….that's probably a good place to start with reviewing…plus look up developmental milestones for first few years of life…basics of hand skills for handwriting…plus some popular kid cartoon characters…blahdey blah blah!!!

GOOD NIGHT!!!!
PS: One of these days I'll catch up on my RSS feeds for OT blogs!! I'm so impressed with how many people are blogging these days!!