Last day of summer

Well my birthday's over. My parents threw a surprise party for me. Just a small gathering but it was just funny how my mom did it:

[Mom calls on phone @ 11:30am Saturday morning]
Me (groggy, because I just fell asleep): Hello?
Mom : Happy Birthday! Oh, can you come fix my computer? Pleeeeassseeeee?
Me: Ugh, can't you just use Dad's?
Mom: No, I really need it - pleassseeeeeee? Come by at 2:15 or 2:30. C (my husband) has to come over and get something out of the attic anyway - just come with him
Me: No, I really need some sleep - I've only gotten 3 hrs sleep and I still need to work later tonight.
Mom: PPPLEEEAASSSEEEEEEE PLEEEASSSEEE I really need it to work PLEEASSSSEEEEE
Me: [*grunt*hack*wheeze*]
Mom: Pleeeasssssseeeeeeeee.....?
Me: I'll think about it.. *snore*
..
By this point, I was suspecting something but not certain because a) my mom never whines b) if she really needed her computer to work, why would I have to wait at a specific time and c) my parents can get into the attic themselves, why all of a sudden needing help?

Anyway, I didn't think much of it after that so I dragged myself out of bed, got ready while C got the kids ready and we went over there. And SURPRISE! Party for me! I know she probably wanted it on the actual day of my birthday; I just wish I was more awake for it.

So, the day is over and cake was eaten - yum! mocha cake! And now it's Sunday - The Last Day of Summer Vacation. My daughter and I are a bit sad since we both go back to school on Monday. We are both definitely lazy morning people. I'm only going to work a couple hours Sunday, rest of the shift I took off as vacation. Both of us girls have got to force ourselves to go to sleep early again.... and wake up early. Although we both know this, we have failed miserably. Well I shouldn't say that she failed because she is The Child and I am The Parent and what I say goes and I have the bad habit of doing stuff at night (cleaning, reading, watching TV) which she picked up.

Bottom Line: OT School - excited!! Waking up early - boo!!

You say it's your BIRTHday!

Well it's my birthday too - yeah! [continue Beatles head bopping]

So, I decided to splurge on myself for my birthday and bought a spanking new laptop:[img: NewSonyVAIOThatWeighsLessThanABowlingBall.jpg]

It's not Gamer-ready (or Battle-ready or whatever) but it's plenty for me. Besides, it beats what I used to have:
[img: MeInMyBestTweed.jpg]

Anyway, I won't go into detail about how much of a Royal Pain in the Patootie the sales guy was - mainly when it came to his persuasion of my needing an extended warranty because he has "literally sold thousands" (his words, not mine) and knows what he's talking about. I just don't care for the hard sell. It doesn't work on me. In fact, it was such a turn-off that I was close to just forgetting the whole thing and going somewhere else. But I didn't want him to ruin my happy day.

So that was Thursday.

Here's how Friday went:
8:30-2:00 : Orientation for OT School [insert angel's choir here] [insert reason why there's an angel's choir is because I am stunned that I actually am starting OT School]

2:00-2:30 : Got cellphone swapped because the backspace key didn't work. Never realized before how dependent I am on backspace. Have determined fingers are "fluffy".

3:00-4:30 : Treated daughter and self with manicure/pedicures. (It's our twice a year treat.)

4:30-5:00 : Finally leave nail salon after s-l-o-w-l-y putting on carseat buckles on daughter. Have decided that next time, will NOT get manicure and thereby curing all hand/finger immobility via new manicure. In meantime, will master "jazz-hands" technique of buckling child restraints.

5:00-5:30 : Drove to parents' house with "jazz-hands". Managed to only smear 1 nail.

6:00-6:30 : Visited daughter's 1st grade teacher for next year. Stunned that summer has come and gone so quickly. Quietly mourn the loss of lazy summer mornings.

6:50 : Returned home. Start work.

And here I sit. Still. Because I only have 4 more hours until I'm done with my shift.

Yup.

So.. why am I doing this?

I've asked myself what I'd focus on this blog. I've had blogs/journals/diaries in the past but was never satisfied; in a way, I felt kind of pretentious - who else would care about what I have to say? In a way, it was just a place to collect my thoughts.. but they are so haphazard, at least to me. Eventually, the perfectionist in me would take over and scrap the whole thing.

What's so different this time? I don't know really. And honestly, I don't know exactly is going to spill out of my head. What I do know is that I love science and I love art. I am by no means an expert in either one of those subjects. If anything, I'm more of a groupie. I discovered occupational therapy after my kids were born (all premature) and now that they're older, I've decided to take a step towards making it a career. This field, at least my impression of it, marries both science and art so perfectly that I can't believe I didn't declare this as my major in the first place. Oh, I know why - because I had no idea it existed. I would have been one of those people that thought the "occupation" part had something to do with working in the HR department.

Simply put, I want to record my experiences. Chances are, the focus will primarily will be kids, house, OT school because that's probably all I'm going to have time for. I am sure I'll stumble and whine and curse... but I'll try my best to keep that to a minimum. After all, this is more of a personal journal and no where close to a professional one.

One week from now, I'll start OT school. It's a bit overwhelming with everything going on! Luckily, my work allows me to work from home and just on weekends. Granted, I work the midnight shift so what that means come Mondays, there is a strong possibility that I will be perceived as bi*chy. But I promise I will be much nicer Tuesdays.

T-7 days and counting...

Pre-reqs are done!

This past Friday was the last of the pre-reqs (neuro A&P). I AM DONE! But it's only just the beginning. Now I'll actually start the MOT program - wow! This has been a long time coming; honestly, it really doesn't feel real. Have you ever planned for something so long that by the time you actually complete it, it's more like, "wha? there's actually a next part to this?" College was that way, but not really. It seemed more like an extension of high school. And also, undergrad was work. I mean chore-like work. Like laundry (which the bane of my existence and will probably be a running theme in this blog). This is due to the fact that at the time I was picking out my major, I didn't really consider what I actually want to do. Daily. For the rest of my working life. See? I didn't look at it that way. I thought any job will do. Anyway, I'll talk about that some other time.

OT School, on the other hand, is something I look forward to because I actually want to do this. Wow - what a concept! From what I've been reading out in the intertubes, OT students really love school. That is such a foreign concept to me. You mean, it's not about finishing whatever it is and getting a job and realizing the grown-up world is not all that it's cracked up to be. OK, need to get away from that topic again.

So we'll have orientation in a couple of weeks and the following Monday will be the start of school. I am ScaredCrazyOutOfMyMindWhatAmIThinkingMaybeIShouldWaitAndStartNextYear ... and if I can just harness that nervous energy and just focus on school, I think I should be OK. Who needs Red Bull? Pshaw!

House Update: C, the kids, and my parents (and me) went out there after Dim Sum-day^TM today. The mason has put up part of the wall in the master's bedroom. They should be delivering the steel for the columns on Tuesday. Should be updating the house blog sometime next week.

Kids Update: They're glad I'm done with this class. Next thing that came out of their mouths were "Can we go swimming NOW?" Of course, I said no because it was evening by that point and they spouted off something like It's not fair/We never get to go/I'm going to live with Mama and Papa (my parents). To which I responded that's fine and that's just less laundry for me and then I can donate all their old toys. To which they said NOOOOOOOoooooooooooo!! Haha - I'm mean.