Wow... two long days in a row and my sup asked me to come in tomorrow as well. I am working to cover my therapy sup at Juvenile Hall on Thursday, so that would be four days running. I agreed to work from home on the neuropsych case we're embroiled in, but I refused to drive 40 miles south. Besides the price of gas ($4.76 for 87 octane today!) my comps are overdue as of today. They should be arriving any time and I really have no desire to try to peck at them for a hour in the evenings when I'm exhausted.
My other site has decided that despite my having worked there for a year in 2005/6, I must now present three letters of reference, transcripts, a updated CV and endure an interview with their clinical committee before they can consider me for a doctoral practicum. Akk! Ok the updated CV and transcripts I get, but what the hell... do they think I've regressed since I got my masters? They gave me a glowing review and thank you when I left and asked me to come back "any time" not to mention my supervisor there wrote a fantastic letter of recommendation helping me get into my doctoral program to begin with! Well whatever... it means that I will have more time for comps, and besides, it appears there is no lack of hours to be had at my current site!
All that aside, I still plan to take a week or so for myself at some point. AR and I are thinking of going up north to the giant redwoods later in the summer. My niece wants to come and stay with me for a week too, which is always fun. I really want to go see her new apartment at school, too. She's a sophomore now and I've never been to see her in her own digs.
Gus (see pic of green bird top left sidebar) has a tentative playdate with a female Senegal parrot, though I'm not sure he knows it. We ran into a lovely couple at the pet store (Gus always comes in and picks out his own toy) who mooned over what a wonderfully socialized bird he was and complained that their young female was most definitely NOT! The wife wanted to give me the bird, but the husband, whose bird it was, did not seem so keen on the idea. I was more on his side of the discussion, so we simply agreed it would be fun for them to meet and see what happened. Gus needs his wings and toenails clipped, so when we're out doing that we'll stop in and say hi. They live very close to our vet.
I see from their online statuses other classmates are working on their dissertations. Sigh. I'll get there, honest I will. I just can't do so much all at once though, not without a substantial break in there somewhere. So this week is work and a once over on comps, and next week I'll get started on an application essay. I think one reference per day on my lit review is a modest start I can make next week too.
Hooray for next week... it isn't HERE yet!!!
Showing posts with label parrots. Show all posts
Showing posts with label parrots. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Gus goes to the bike races
Well I didn't plan it that way, but that's what ended up happening. Yesterday was "A Day for Creative Women" at the Mission in my town. The community counseling center where I did my Masters practicum had a booth there, so I went down to help out and had a nice afternoon walking around downtown with my friend, D, who was also at the booth. I stopped at a booth for the Commission on the Status of Women and filled out a survey, which resulted in being entered in a lottery for a bag of goodies from Trader Joe's. I promptly forgot all about it and was mightily surprised to find a message on my answering machine when I got home saying I'd won!!! Unfortunately by then I was home, 20 miles away, and it was after 7pm.
So today I met a woman from the commission in town to pick up my prize only to discover that today is the annual bicycle race that takes place downtown. Thanks to all the streets being closed Gus got his first drive in a parking garage and his first elevator experience, complete with a glass window, which he found thrilling, based on his neck length and the degree of eyeball protuberance.
We met on the steps of the Mission and the race went right through the plaza so we sat and watched. Gus was hysterical. When the first bike came through he'd say, "HEY!!!" and then as the main pack went by he let loose a wild fanfare with whistles and war whoops; all stuff usually reserved for AR when he gets home from work. Did he know somehow that AR used to be an avid cyclist before he (Gus) came to us?Anyway, it's a relatively short loop so they went by every five minutes or so and Gus went off like clockwork every single time.
The poor bird must have sat on the fingers and forearms of 50 children today, not to mention we had the surreal experience of being caught in the swirl of a tour group from Asia. It felt as if like the paparazzi had gotten hold of us! First it was just one couple asking if they could have a picture of their little son with Gus, but then all at once hoards of Asian people with cameras materialized from nowhere and digital cameras were beeping and buzzing like some sort of alien invasion. Sheesh! I'm sure American tourists have their signature behaviors that other cultures laugh about, so no offense intended. Oh, and I cannot count how many times I heard the question, "Is that a REAL parrot?"
We sat at an outdoor eatery where there is always live music, and watched a group of folk singers and Gus bwanged and twanged along with them. We didn't eat though, and I was over the moon when I got home and dug through my prize bag. WOW! There was like $65 worth of groceries in there; all pricey stuff I can't generally afford. So we had flat bread with green olive tapnade and Pad Thai noodles with sauce. Then for dessert we got to choose from dark chocolate almond bark and delicate little almond crisp cookies. There is much more; Southwestern style corn chowder, salsa, garlic basil linguine pasta, Alfredo sauce, giant, pimento-stuffed green olives, gourmet coffee beans, and granola cereal with almonds, cashews and cranberries. GOOD SHIT!!!
BTW, as I look at the website for the Mission I see that their stated mission is:
“To make our Vision a Daily Reality”……..by being:
Loving and Open
Faith-filled and Faithful
Prayerful
Gracious Stewards
Passionate about the Needs of Others
That is, of course, completely in keeping with the fact that they got rid of their soup kitchen five years ago and arrest anyone who looks even faintly like a bum if s/he sits too close. Filthy beggars were ruining the tourist trade...
So today I met a woman from the commission in town to pick up my prize only to discover that today is the annual bicycle race that takes place downtown. Thanks to all the streets being closed Gus got his first drive in a parking garage and his first elevator experience, complete with a glass window, which he found thrilling, based on his neck length and the degree of eyeball protuberance.
We met on the steps of the Mission and the race went right through the plaza so we sat and watched. Gus was hysterical. When the first bike came through he'd say, "HEY!!!" and then as the main pack went by he let loose a wild fanfare with whistles and war whoops; all stuff usually reserved for AR when he gets home from work. Did he know somehow that AR used to be an avid cyclist before he (Gus) came to us?Anyway, it's a relatively short loop so they went by every five minutes or so and Gus went off like clockwork every single time.
The poor bird must have sat on the fingers and forearms of 50 children today, not to mention we had the surreal experience of being caught in the swirl of a tour group from Asia. It felt as if like the paparazzi had gotten hold of us! First it was just one couple asking if they could have a picture of their little son with Gus, but then all at once hoards of Asian people with cameras materialized from nowhere and digital cameras were beeping and buzzing like some sort of alien invasion. Sheesh! I'm sure American tourists have their signature behaviors that other cultures laugh about, so no offense intended. Oh, and I cannot count how many times I heard the question, "Is that a REAL parrot?"
We sat at an outdoor eatery where there is always live music, and watched a group of folk singers and Gus bwanged and twanged along with them. We didn't eat though, and I was over the moon when I got home and dug through my prize bag. WOW! There was like $65 worth of groceries in there; all pricey stuff I can't generally afford. So we had flat bread with green olive tapnade and Pad Thai noodles with sauce. Then for dessert we got to choose from dark chocolate almond bark and delicate little almond crisp cookies. There is much more; Southwestern style corn chowder, salsa, garlic basil linguine pasta, Alfredo sauce, giant, pimento-stuffed green olives, gourmet coffee beans, and granola cereal with almonds, cashews and cranberries. GOOD SHIT!!!
BTW, as I look at the website for the Mission I see that their stated mission is:
“To make our Vision a Daily Reality”……..by being:
Loving and Open
Faith-filled and Faithful
Prayerful
Gracious Stewards
Passionate about the Needs of Others
That is, of course, completely in keeping with the fact that they got rid of their soup kitchen five years ago and arrest anyone who looks even faintly like a bum if s/he sits too close. Filthy beggars were ruining the tourist trade...
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