Wow, this weekend was a busy one. I have some great things going on!!! Ok, here is the rundown. I went and talked to a physicians group a few weeks ago, and was presented with an offer to work in one of their centers one night a week and every other Saturday. This is great!!! It will expand my area, and I will be working in Skokie on Tuesday nights starting in November. Woo Hoo!
Next, this past weekend I went to an open house with RMD at his place of work up in Lake Forest. It is a great place where children with disabilities get much of the therapy they need on horseback. Physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, etc. I found while I was there that the kids were like different people while up on the horse. They were confident and were able to do things that they otherwise would not have been able to do while increasing their physical abilities. It was great. I am going to start doing Acupuncture there on Sunday’s. I was able to introduce myself to many of the parents and other therapists that work there. I think this will be a great opportunity to introduce NMT as well. All of this is very exciting and it all seems to be coming together at the same time. If you thought I didn’t have free time before…
Monday, October 27, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
No longer green
As obsessive as I am about seeing people green, alas I am afraid that I will not be green myself for a while. I know how you feel about this devastating news. I feel like my entire social structure is going to fall apart. I will be with you in gray…
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
That was it for my conference. There was so much going on that I had to break it up into a couple of posts. I have already made my reservation for next year. Now I just need to figure out if I want to spend an extra couple of days checking out the area. At the conference, we are in the lecture pretty much from morning ‘til night. The only exploring I did was on the grounds of the hotel.
Upon my return, BFFflorida was in town and kind enough to snag me from the airport and whisk me off for a cocktail or two to discuss my recent adventure. That was great because I got to recap everything from my trip and cement some of the details in my mind. It is one thing to remember to yourself, but it somehow becomes more real when you talk about it out loud.
I got the pleasure of spending an evening with BFFmusic. We went to one of our favorite little restaurants… It is a little Costa Rican place on Milwaukee Ave. They have THE BEST egg sandwiches!!! Every once in a while I get a craving for one of them, and I have to say, they are not nearly as good when I make them at home.
Then the weekend came. I am usually a big fan of weekends, and this would have been great barring the cold that I picked up on Saturday. It pretty much wiped me out through Tuesday. I think that cooking makes me feel better. I made gumbo, split pea soup and dark chocolate brownies. Other than that, no exciting news I am sorry to say.
Upon my return, BFFflorida was in town and kind enough to snag me from the airport and whisk me off for a cocktail or two to discuss my recent adventure. That was great because I got to recap everything from my trip and cement some of the details in my mind. It is one thing to remember to yourself, but it somehow becomes more real when you talk about it out loud.
I got the pleasure of spending an evening with BFFmusic. We went to one of our favorite little restaurants… It is a little Costa Rican place on Milwaukee Ave. They have THE BEST egg sandwiches!!! Every once in a while I get a craving for one of them, and I have to say, they are not nearly as good when I make them at home.
Then the weekend came. I am usually a big fan of weekends, and this would have been great barring the cold that I picked up on Saturday. It pretty much wiped me out through Tuesday. I think that cooking makes me feel better. I made gumbo, split pea soup and dark chocolate brownies. Other than that, no exciting news I am sorry to say.
They say everyone has a twin
The rest of the conference was great. There were a couple of other incidents, I and some others got an interesting talk about the birds and the bees - complete with a positional demonstration in the dining room of the hotel. It was, um, interesting dinner conversation. All in all I got to hang out with some great people. One of them even wanted to adopt me; She actually almost asked if I was coming home for Christmas. I thought it was funny. Those in the know were giving me a hard time about my early morning visitor. We were all having a great time rehashing some of the finer points of the weekend.
They say that everyone has a twin. I met mine. It was an interesting experience. We don’t look alike, but we seem to lead parallel lives. She lives in Vancouver, has an acupuncture practice there, graduated about the same time as I did; And, we talk the same. We were having lunch on the last day and it was the first time that the two of us had a chance to have a conversation. About half was through lunch she said “I know why our conversation is so easy… you talk at the same speed as me!” It was more than that actually, we think alike. It helps to not have to explain… anything. The conversation moves much faster. We ended up hangin’ out for the rest of the time we were there. It was fun. I have a new friend… BFFme.
They say that everyone has a twin. I met mine. It was an interesting experience. We don’t look alike, but we seem to lead parallel lives. She lives in Vancouver, has an acupuncture practice there, graduated about the same time as I did; And, we talk the same. We were having lunch on the last day and it was the first time that the two of us had a chance to have a conversation. About half was through lunch she said “I know why our conversation is so easy… you talk at the same speed as me!” It was more than that actually, we think alike. It helps to not have to explain… anything. The conversation moves much faster. We ended up hangin’ out for the rest of the time we were there. It was fun. I have a new friend… BFFme.
This type of thing happens to everyone... right?
I got to the hotel where they were pretty booked up for the weekend. When I made my reservation they didn’t have any more rooms available, so I booked into the women’s hostel. I have never stayed in a hostel before. I figured it would be… interesting. I was only booked in there for 2 nights, then I would be moved to a single room. Perfect.
I got there and went up to the room. It was nice, clean. It had about 7 bunk beds, and a whole bunch of lockers. I figured it would be fine. I met one of the ladies that would be in the room with me, turns out there were 4 of us staying in there.
After a nice evening with people I didn’t know, I got back to the room and on of the ladies thought it was getting chilly so she headed down to talk to management to see what we could do. Now, let me just say that it got to a low of about 60 in the whole time I was there. But, she was concerned that it would get cold. The hotel being older, apparently doesn’t have heat going into this particular room. At this point she became very concerned about the chill that could overcome us. In the brainstorming process that I was only half listening to she decided that the best bet would be to leave the door open to get some circulation from the hallway. I have to say that this did not sound like the best idea to me. But, on the other hand everyone that I had run into was very friendly, and there is the safety in numbers thing that we had going on in this particular room. So, not wanting to make waves or sound uncooperative, I figured there was safety in numbers so I said ok.
At this point I should mention that there was a wedding going on for the weekend and I am thinking that the rehearsal dinner was going on that Friday night.
The room was an L shape. 2 beds on the wall where you walk in and then turn a corner and there were 5 more beds. I was in the 3rd bed down after the turn. At around 5:30 in the morning this is the conversation that went down:
Cold woman near the door: “This is the woman’s dormitory.”
Drunk guy wearing only a pair of boxers: “I know”.
Stranger proceeded to walk into the room, turn the corner and come directly to my bed side table. As I was staring incredulously, he started fiddling with the table, like he was trying to open the drawer.
Calmly, I ask: “What are you doing?” I thought it was a reasonable question given that my stuff was on the table.
His response… “Shhhh”
Really???? This was not the answer I was expecting. I don’t know what I was expecting exactly.
Me: “No, really, what are you doing?”
His response: “Don’t worry, it’s ok.”
Me: “I don’t really think it's ok. Get out of my stuff”
Him: “Take it easy.”
Me: “Are you kidding??? What are you doing?”
Him: “Shhh. Going to the bathroom.”
Me (loudly, not that I wasn’t before): “Get OUT of here!!”
Him: “really?”
Me: “GET OUT! OUT, OUT, OUT”
Him: “What is your problem?”
Me: “This is a bedroom not a bathroom! Get out!”
He turns to leave, walks back toward the door and looks around before he goes, then slips out. Well, that was interesting. I will say that I don’t think that is my favorite way to wake up.
So, after an hour of tossing and turning, I got up jumped in the shower and got ready for the day. I got back to the room and struck up a conversation with the woman who didn’t want to be cold.
Me: “I am wondering if we should rethink leaving the door open at night.”
Her: “I saw that your friend came in.”
Me: “Excuse me?”
Her: “your friend”
Me: “That was not my friend. He was a complete stranger that came in and thought this room was the bathroom. I have absolutely no idea who he was. He came in because the door was open. Did you hear me yelling at him?”
Her: “oh. Yes, but I didn’t know why”
Me: “I would be more comfortable if we shut the door so strangers do not come into our room.”
Her: “Well, what about the heat?”
Me – dumbfounded: “Well, we will have to think about that won’t we.”
There we go. The safety in numbers really only works if we all participate. This is how my day started.
I got there and went up to the room. It was nice, clean. It had about 7 bunk beds, and a whole bunch of lockers. I figured it would be fine. I met one of the ladies that would be in the room with me, turns out there were 4 of us staying in there.
After a nice evening with people I didn’t know, I got back to the room and on of the ladies thought it was getting chilly so she headed down to talk to management to see what we could do. Now, let me just say that it got to a low of about 60 in the whole time I was there. But, she was concerned that it would get cold. The hotel being older, apparently doesn’t have heat going into this particular room. At this point she became very concerned about the chill that could overcome us. In the brainstorming process that I was only half listening to she decided that the best bet would be to leave the door open to get some circulation from the hallway. I have to say that this did not sound like the best idea to me. But, on the other hand everyone that I had run into was very friendly, and there is the safety in numbers thing that we had going on in this particular room. So, not wanting to make waves or sound uncooperative, I figured there was safety in numbers so I said ok.
At this point I should mention that there was a wedding going on for the weekend and I am thinking that the rehearsal dinner was going on that Friday night.
The room was an L shape. 2 beds on the wall where you walk in and then turn a corner and there were 5 more beds. I was in the 3rd bed down after the turn. At around 5:30 in the morning this is the conversation that went down:
Cold woman near the door: “This is the woman’s dormitory.”
Drunk guy wearing only a pair of boxers: “I know”.
Stranger proceeded to walk into the room, turn the corner and come directly to my bed side table. As I was staring incredulously, he started fiddling with the table, like he was trying to open the drawer.
Calmly, I ask: “What are you doing?” I thought it was a reasonable question given that my stuff was on the table.
His response… “Shhhh”
Really???? This was not the answer I was expecting. I don’t know what I was expecting exactly.
Me: “No, really, what are you doing?”
His response: “Don’t worry, it’s ok.”
Me: “I don’t really think it's ok. Get out of my stuff”
Him: “Take it easy.”
Me: “Are you kidding??? What are you doing?”
Him: “Shhh. Going to the bathroom.”
Me (loudly, not that I wasn’t before): “Get OUT of here!!”
Him: “really?”
Me: “GET OUT! OUT, OUT, OUT”
Him: “What is your problem?”
Me: “This is a bedroom not a bathroom! Get out!”
He turns to leave, walks back toward the door and looks around before he goes, then slips out. Well, that was interesting. I will say that I don’t think that is my favorite way to wake up.
So, after an hour of tossing and turning, I got up jumped in the shower and got ready for the day. I got back to the room and struck up a conversation with the woman who didn’t want to be cold.
Me: “I am wondering if we should rethink leaving the door open at night.”
Her: “I saw that your friend came in.”
Me: “Excuse me?”
Her: “your friend”
Me: “That was not my friend. He was a complete stranger that came in and thought this room was the bathroom. I have absolutely no idea who he was. He came in because the door was open. Did you hear me yelling at him?”
Her: “oh. Yes, but I didn’t know why”
Me: “I would be more comfortable if we shut the door so strangers do not come into our room.”
Her: “Well, what about the heat?”
Me – dumbfounded: “Well, we will have to think about that won’t we.”
There we go. The safety in numbers really only works if we all participate. This is how my day started.
Nice strangers - some of them in a creapy kind of way
I got to the hotel and gave you a brief run down of my travel. So I will pick it up from there. Really, events just got more and more interesting.
I put my things away and headed out to one of the 6 porches with a book to enjoy the rain.
I made it out the door and was making a determination as to the seat that was calling my name when a couple of guys struck up a conversation. Nice enough guys. They were both John’s. Well one Jon and one John. I spent the rest of the afternoon in casual conversation and made some new buddies. About the guys… I thought they had been friends for years based on the conversation, but apparently they had just met on the bus on the way to this hotel. The one John was an interesting character. He said he lived 2 miles away and was just coming up here to have a few drinks. Then decided he wanted to get a room at the hotel so he didn’t have to go home but left his credit card and phone at home. Then he tells us his dog is across the street at the humane society and he has to go get him before it closes at 8. He tells us this at 8:05. He can't drive the dog home because his car was towed and he hadn't gotten it out yet. Apparently the dog was in the car at the time. Then says he wants to get a room and put the dog in there (hotel doesn’t allow pets). By this point he has talked the other Jon into splitting a room to save on cost, Jon and I are looking at each other like this whole dog thing is not a good idea. There was a lot of conversation around this and I, fortunately, was not involved. Everything was straightened out and we decided to head over to one of the many bars on the premises for a cocktail.
The hotel had both a brewery and winery on site. The beer was incredible. The wine was good, but not exceptional. They did however grow their own organic grapes on site. It was really cool to see. As far as I can figure, this place used to be a farm. There are several out buildings, and I think they have a bar in each of them selling their wares.
We headed to the little red cottage. This little building has a really warm fire and holds a total of about 12 people. It was so cute and cozy! While there we met a couple of girls that were having a girls weekend and hung out with them for a while. I was really surprised at how friendly all of these strangers were. I decided to turn in early because the conference started at 8:30 in the am. I wanted to be fresh and ready to go.
As the weekend progressed, I ran into Jon several times and we decided that the other John was a con artist, but wasn't very good at it.
I put my things away and headed out to one of the 6 porches with a book to enjoy the rain.
I made it out the door and was making a determination as to the seat that was calling my name when a couple of guys struck up a conversation. Nice enough guys. They were both John’s. Well one Jon and one John. I spent the rest of the afternoon in casual conversation and made some new buddies. About the guys… I thought they had been friends for years based on the conversation, but apparently they had just met on the bus on the way to this hotel. The one John was an interesting character. He said he lived 2 miles away and was just coming up here to have a few drinks. Then decided he wanted to get a room at the hotel so he didn’t have to go home but left his credit card and phone at home. Then he tells us his dog is across the street at the humane society and he has to go get him before it closes at 8. He tells us this at 8:05. He can't drive the dog home because his car was towed and he hadn't gotten it out yet. Apparently the dog was in the car at the time. Then says he wants to get a room and put the dog in there (hotel doesn’t allow pets). By this point he has talked the other Jon into splitting a room to save on cost, Jon and I are looking at each other like this whole dog thing is not a good idea. There was a lot of conversation around this and I, fortunately, was not involved. Everything was straightened out and we decided to head over to one of the many bars on the premises for a cocktail.
The hotel had both a brewery and winery on site. The beer was incredible. The wine was good, but not exceptional. They did however grow their own organic grapes on site. It was really cool to see. As far as I can figure, this place used to be a farm. There are several out buildings, and I think they have a bar in each of them selling their wares.
We headed to the little red cottage. This little building has a really warm fire and holds a total of about 12 people. It was so cute and cozy! While there we met a couple of girls that were having a girls weekend and hung out with them for a while. I was really surprised at how friendly all of these strangers were. I decided to turn in early because the conference started at 8:30 in the am. I wanted to be fresh and ready to go.
As the weekend progressed, I ran into Jon several times and we decided that the other John was a con artist, but wasn't very good at it.
Friday, October 3, 2008
The big travel day
So, I was up at the crack before dawn today to head out to Portland. I have an NMT conference here this weekend, and I have to say that getting out to Portland has tuned out to be a full travel day. What started out with a direct flight got changed to layovers with no seat assignment. That was interesting. I don't fly Delta much, so it was a new experience for me. Actually, any time I go to a new city… obviously, it is a new experience. This time is no different.
I have been to Portland once before, and it was OK, but I didn't see the hype that I had heard from others. This time, I think I may see why so many people like it. First let me tell you… My flight today started early; I left my house at 5am and I landed in PDX at 12:30 local time which for me would be2:30 so I had been on the road or in the air already for a really long time. But, since my conference doesn't start until tomorrow, I figured I would get to my final destination via public transportation. Portland has a pretty good PT system, so I figured it would be no problem. Well, a train ride and 40 minute bus ride later, I feel like I have been doing the planes/trains/automobiles movie reincarnated. Well, maybe not that bad. But, after a 40 minute bus ride, and me talking to the bus driver most of the way here, he still went past my stop and I ended up walking back a block or 2. In the rain. Up hill. Ha, I just like saying that; but it was raining. And still is as I write this.
I got to the hotel at about 2:30 local time and still hadn't eaten. Don't forget they are no longer serving food on the flights. I take that back, I had crackers. On both flights.
So, this place is really cool. As I sit here, I wanted to share my experience so far. It is not in the city of Portland, but it is out is a more rural area. It is a resort in itself. They have several restaurants, at least 3 bars, and live music tonight. I don't know if I will be able to stay up for it, but how cool is that??? I stopped of at one of the pubs here and had a quick bite, and now I am refreshed as I sit on a huge porch with aderondike chairs and rocking chairs. There is a cool breeze and the rain is coming down softly around me. This is heaven! I think I like this place, and it is just what I needed to get away.
Not sure what my problem has been lately, but the littlest things seem to set me off. This will be a great get away. Now, don't get me wrong, I am not actually on vacation here. I will be in a seminar from 8am until 9pm. For 4 days the other 2 days I am gone are travel days. My relaxing will be done on the travel days. I just needed to clear that up lest anyone think I may have some spare time on my hands. Phhh those of you who know me know better than that.
I have been to Portland once before, and it was OK, but I didn't see the hype that I had heard from others. This time, I think I may see why so many people like it. First let me tell you… My flight today started early; I left my house at 5am and I landed in PDX at 12:30 local time which for me would be2:30 so I had been on the road or in the air already for a really long time. But, since my conference doesn't start until tomorrow, I figured I would get to my final destination via public transportation. Portland has a pretty good PT system, so I figured it would be no problem. Well, a train ride and 40 minute bus ride later, I feel like I have been doing the planes/trains/automobiles movie reincarnated. Well, maybe not that bad. But, after a 40 minute bus ride, and me talking to the bus driver most of the way here, he still went past my stop and I ended up walking back a block or 2. In the rain. Up hill. Ha, I just like saying that; but it was raining. And still is as I write this.
I got to the hotel at about 2:30 local time and still hadn't eaten. Don't forget they are no longer serving food on the flights. I take that back, I had crackers. On both flights.
So, this place is really cool. As I sit here, I wanted to share my experience so far. It is not in the city of Portland, but it is out is a more rural area. It is a resort in itself. They have several restaurants, at least 3 bars, and live music tonight. I don't know if I will be able to stay up for it, but how cool is that??? I stopped of at one of the pubs here and had a quick bite, and now I am refreshed as I sit on a huge porch with aderondike chairs and rocking chairs. There is a cool breeze and the rain is coming down softly around me. This is heaven! I think I like this place, and it is just what I needed to get away.
Not sure what my problem has been lately, but the littlest things seem to set me off. This will be a great get away. Now, don't get me wrong, I am not actually on vacation here. I will be in a seminar from 8am until 9pm. For 4 days the other 2 days I am gone are travel days. My relaxing will be done on the travel days. I just needed to clear that up lest anyone think I may have some spare time on my hands. Phhh those of you who know me know better than that.
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