Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Four down, one to go

More than two months have flown by since I wrote last. It's hard to believe I have now compled FOUR semesters of grad school and am only lacking ONE semester until I have a M.A. Woah! Can I really be that grown up? Haha. However, I MUST pass comps to graduate. I will take on this endeavor January 10th & 11th. My brain literally starts hurting when I think of how little time I have to prepare for writing 7 essays in 7 subjects in 7 hours. Sounds pretty terrifying, right?! Especially considering how I have not even had classes in two of the areas. Weird but true. I have started to study for two of my comps. One of the two, Speech Science, I think I could spend all my time over break studying for. This is not a good thing because I have to take SEVEN. Sad face. I know it will all work out somehow...

In the past two months, I've been to Little Rock and back, Fayetteville and back, Fayetteville and back, Little Rock and back, and Little Rock and back. Crazy I know! I've had Razorback football games, a first birthday party, Thanksgiving, Christmas parties, and my mom's dance performance to attend. Whew! Well next semester I don't think I'll be making nearly as many trips. I've put WAY TOO many miles on my car, which means I've spent way too much money on gas plus having to get oil changes. Not to mention I already have to drive plenty is this city.

I suppose I should make bullet points of the last two months of my life (in no certain order of importance):

*The Razorbacks beat Ole Miss, which translates to beat Houston Nutt (I was there)
*The Razorbacks got the boot back from LSU (I was there)
*And most importantly in Hog Country...the Razorbacks are going to the SUGAR BOWL
*I'm dating a boy I met in cycling class
*I carved pumpkins (two to be exact) for the first time in my life
*I believe I am only 20ish hours away from the required 400 clinic hours
*I am going to the Dominican Republic for spring break to test people's hearing (and I got a scholarship that covers most of the trip)
*I along with at least 10 other girls in my class no longer have graduate assistantships (a Debbie downer I know)
*My favorite baby girl turned one year old
*All my living grandparents have had two visits each in the hospital and one is still in a skilled nursing home
*I have made some of my best cakes (7 I believe)
*My mom bought me the coolest leggings (black, red, and blue)
*I ran my first 5k (in 27 minutes)
*I've gotten to dress up (one of my favorite things) in 80s, as a princess, and twice for ugly Christmas sweaters
*I am not very good at speaking like I have ataxic dysarthria
*I now have a comps binder...
*I had some great experiences in clinic at the rehab hospital and the elementary school
*Two girls in my class found out they're pregnant
*One of my best friends found out she's pregnant as well
*I got to go ice skating at the zoo and see Zoo Lights (we were all a little disappointed in the lights)

I guess that is my life in the past two months in a nutshell. I know I'll have some more fabulous experiences to come over break even if a majority of it will be spent studying (hopefully studying).

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Playoffs aren't just for sports

I finally worked on one of my papers and just finished it but not until after I let trying to figure out where I want to live consume me. Yes, I know I have until May before I gradute, but that's ONLY seven months!!! Actually it's now a little less than seven months, which it seems like a long time when I think about what all that has to happen between now and then---pass comps (ahhhhhhh!!!), pass the praxis, of course pass all my classes, finish my special project, and complete 400 clinic hours (ahhhhh again)! Seven months seems like not too long when I think about having to choose where I want to apply for a job. By where I'm just talking about choosing a state right now.

So earlier today I decided to look at different speech therapy clinics for children in different states. I have narrowed--and when I say narrowed take that term loosely--my decision down to six states. Yes, I realize that's a lot, but it's much fewer than 50 plus the District of Columbia. The six lucky states that have made it to the playoffs are... Arkansas, California, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. These are listed in alphabetical order so none can be seen as having a higher preference than another. I do have cities picked out in each of these states for the most part.

I have always researched the idea of being a traveling SLP. That throws in a whole game in my playoffs. Stay tuned to find out where gets knocked out...

Now I must get back to the regular programming of my life...schoolwork

Where has the weekend gone?

The weekend always seems to vanish in thin air. Yes, I realize it is still Sunday and not even quite the afternoon yet. The weekend is pretty much gone now though because I should spend the next 10 hours working on my papers for autism. What I should do and what I actually do are not always the same...I deserve to give myself I small pat on the back for working on my special project this morning.

My special project involves spelling and 3rd graders. Sounds exciting, right? It actually really does interest me, which is good considering I already have spent hours and will spend more hours working on it. We (my supervisor and I) are trying to determine a pattern in spellings of 3rd graders. By this I mean, do their mistakes happen more due to orthographic change, phonological change, both change, or no change. I realize that probably doesn't make too much sense to you, but I'll explain more when we have figured out the pattern(s).

Yesterday I spent my day watching SEC football (and let me tell you it was quite a day in the SEC) instead of working on those papers...Don't worry I took my laptop and books over to my friend Sarah's house to work on while I watched the game. Too bad my light pink Sony Vaio stayed in my Vera Bradley petal pink messenger bag. Good intentions count for something, right?

Those good intentions have been around all morning too, but somehow the news and sports seem to find themselves on my computer screen. Gee, I don't know how that's happening...

Friday, October 8, 2010

4 Weddings in 4 Weeks in 4 States...Whew!





I am so glad to be able to have done absolutely nothing tonight! Well I should have been working on my papers for my autism class...(instead I've been catching up on all the episodes for this season of America's Next Top Model and chatting on facebook.) I'm just enjoying not having to travel anywhere. I've been all over the place--Texas last weekend, California the weekend before, central Arkansas the two weekends before, and northwest Arkansas the weekend before. Three of these weekends were for weddings (the fourth was in Memphis, which I came back early Labor Day weekend) and two of these were for Razorback games. Don't get me wrong I thoroughly enjoyed all of these weekends, but it's nice staying put for a change. All the weddings were beautiful! I was even a groomslady at the wedding in Cali. That was definitely a trip of a lifetime, and I loved every minute!

"Staying put" is not a literal saying so someone on the autism spectrum would probably have a hard time understanding that. I think about autism pretty often. I try to think about how a person with autism (even high functioning)may feel in a situation...when I had a majorly delayed flight back from California, in the cafeteria with only kindergardners and first graders at the school I'm at for clinic, at football games when people are cheering, the list goes on and on. Last week when I was at the wedding in Texas, where I didn't know the guests, I at first felt like I was the opposite of somone with autism because I really wanted someone to talk to me. Then I start to think about all my quirky little characteristics that really are rather odd if you think about it...having to set an alarm or a microwave on a time ending with a 3 or 7, having an obssession with checking weather forecasts for lots of different places. Ok, I'll stop there. I mean we all really have some characteristics of autism...

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

So almost 3 months later...

Wow! Time sure does fly when you're in grad school. So much has happened since my last post back in June. I won't bore you with all those details. A new semester has begun. I am now really a second year. Crazy. I'll sum up what I learned over my summer semester for you:
1) I really do prefer to work with children over adults
2) Accent reduction instruction is not really what I'm interested in
3) More than I ever knew about word stress, idioms, American culture/holidays/icons
4) I have an awesome time in Little Rock
5) I really really do enjoy making cakes
6) Rope swinging from a cliff can be dangerous
7) Five to jive is the best game
8) Charleston is amazing
9) Partying like it's 1985 is rad
10)West Memphis doesn't even have a coffee shop

This semester I know I'll learn lots more, especially clinic related. I'll have my first hospital placement and my first school placement. I'm excited and nervous. Hopefully, I'll be starting those next week...

I also am excited about my dysphasia (swallowing disorders) class and my autism spectrum disorders class! I'm also taking a public schools clinic class and a neuromotor speech disorders class. I have so much to learn!

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

I had to sit up front in class...WEIRD


My third semester as a grad student is underway. This evening in class I had to sit in the very front row...GASP! I typically sit in the back of the classroom. It may not be conducive to my learning, but I like it. I walked in class two minutes before it started (I would have been there earlier, but I was finishing icing the butterfly cake for Maggie's birthday) to find my "typical" seat taken and the only seats still available in the FRONT row. I made my way up front and sat down in a chair that was on the left side of the room. I usually sit on the right side so this seat was completely opposite from my normal. It felt awkward!

My first two days have gone well. I actually have binders for the semester (with cupcakes on them). Score! My binders now have two syllabi and some clinic stuff in them. My goal is to continue actually putting things in the ring part of the binder. Think I can keep this up?

My aural rehab class seems like it'll be interesting but very LONG (4 hours and 10 minutes every Monday). We went through 90 slides yesterday (that's right ninety). I actually typed up an outline for these slides and even read 25 pages of a book we have to write a paper on. This paper isn't even due until August 2nd so I'm proud of myself for this early start. Eager beaver.

My langugage disorders in adults clas seems like it'll be interesting. It's only 2 hours because it's split up into two evenings a week (T TH).

Clinic this morning was interesting. I'll definitely have quite a challenge, but it should be fun! I'll get to learn about assistive technology at my assistantship tomorrow. I'm excited! I'll typically have it MWF, but my supervisor is out of town.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

June is here, which means my return to grad school

I had to leave my little dream world June 1st. May FLEW by! It didn't listen to me when I told it to slow down. Upon my arrival back, I felt like I had only been gone for 4 days instead of 4 weeks.

My May break was FABULOUS! This would not have been so if it wasn't for my amazing boyfriend and friends. I just LOVE NWA!!!

Yesterday was orientation. We have to go to orienation at the beginning of every semester because we have to get our clinic placements and meet with our supervisors. I am excited about my placements even if one of them is going to give me more than 3 times the number of hours in child language therapy required (I already have more than double what I need). I'll get adult clients for the first time, which kind of makes me nervous. ..

Monday, May 17, 2010

May Never Needs To End...



I haven't written since I started by May break. I figured I don't really have much to write about grad schoolwise. I did get a graduate assistantship though! This is very exciting!!! It cuts my tuition from out-of-state to just half of in-state, which is about $9000 off! Wahoo!!!

I am thoroughly enjoying May. I would be just fine if it never ends! I've gotten to spend lots of time with most of my favorites (minus Danielle and Katherine of course) and know more amazing times are to come in the next two weeks. Some of the things we've done are eaten at some of my favorite places, played rockband, gone to a baseball game, gone to a casino, and had a bachelorette party. The bachelorette party was this past Saturday, and it was fabulous! We hadn't had a girls' night in FOREVER!!!

Zach and I are getting to cross stuff off our to-do list. So far we've been able to cross off grasshopper crepes, flying a kite, baseball game, golf, and casino. Last night we tried to beat the blue team on the computerized shuffleboard game at one of the bars. This shuffleboard game is actually where we met each other a little over 5 weeks ago. More things on our to-do list include Devil's Den, a waterfall, an elementary school lunch, the castle, putt-putt, bowling, and I think a couple more things.

A few things I've learned so far on break:
1) I truly am blessed
2) Don't go to a Mexican restaurant on Cinco de Mayo unless you want to have a 3 hour meal
3) Group meals will probably last around 2 and a half hours no matter what
4) Slot machines don't always cost the amount they say (i.e., they require more than 1 credit to play)
5) I really miss clinic but not class

Something I already knew:
1) I have the most AWESOME friends!!!

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

I WILL SURVIVE...and we DID survive



I am officially 2/5ths of the way finished with graduate school. This time next year I'll be finished with school FOREVER...FOR--EVER (insert "Sandlot" voice here). We (as in first year speechies) survived speech science, neuro, language disorders,and another clinic class. A few of us even survived a particular clinic placement!

The neuro exam had a few surprise questions on it, but all that matters now is that it is over! And you have no idea how amazing it felt to put all my clients' working folders into my supervisor's box to show her I was completely finished with them! I had a supervisor meeting, which went fine. Then my group met to do this final project for language disorders class. She gave us this assignment last week! Not cool considering finals and all the final clinic paperwork.

When I got to go home, the first thing I did was scratch off all my to-do list items on my bathroom mirror. Yes, I write in phonetics on my mirror...

I don't think I've ever mentioned by obsession with baking cakes on here. Well I do have one. In the past month, I've made 7 cakes and a set of mini-cakes. Yesterday I made an ice skate cake to honor my roomie's birthday. I just winged it, and I must say I think it turned out quite well.

Then last night a group of us speechies were going to go bowling. Unfortunately, the bowling alley is closed on Mondays! What's up with that?! So we instead just chilled on the roof of a bar on Beale street. It was fun! It's so weird to think I'm not going to see those girls and boy for a month!

Today I will begin my adventure of a May spent in the natural state with a majority of the time being in Fayetteville. I suppose I need to get to some more laundry and packing...

Monday, May 3, 2010

May Day May Day May Day...


Wow! It's really May now, and let me tell you it came in with a BANG literally! From around 3 am to a little before 9 am Saturday (May 1st) Memphis got about 10 inches of rain. It was storming like crazy!!! I was awake from 4 to 5:30 due to thunder and ligtening that literally kept the sky illuminated the whole time. Then it woke me again at 7. I thought I would try to be very productive and go to the clinic to get work on my clients finished because I couldn't from Wednesday to Friday due to the server being down. (Yes, it was down at the absolute worst time of year.) The roads were completely flooded so I could not get to the clinic. Instead I had to settle with starting to study neuro.

The bang of Saturday continued through out the day. The morning continued with storms and tornado warnings that caused the sirens to go off twice. Then mid-afternoon the sun tried to peak its head out from the clouds. Luckily, the road floodings subsided, and I was able to spend 3 hours at the clinic. Wahoo! Then it was back to attempting to study neuro. I was all settled in on my bed with my lovely notes and then the sirens went off again! This time it was for an hour, and this time they were thinking it was coming across the river. Considering how I live on Mud Island I figured I would take cover this time. So I spent an hour of my life Saturday night in my roommate's bathtub. (Her bathroom is the only room without windows in our apartmen.) I chose a few items to accompany me. They were my photobooks (I've spent too much money and time to let those be ruined!), pearls, chocolate, my laptop, my phone, and my granddaddy's Navy wings. Oh and I took one neuor powerpoint in there with me.

Sunday began with a few hours at the clinic. I have pretty much finished all my client stuff (i.e., summary reports, SOAP notes, treatment plan, language sample). You have no idea how good this felt! All I have to do today is add who is to get copies of the sumamry report (the cc) and fill out these summary test forms. Sunday continued with neuro. Of course knowing me I took about a million breaks.

I have two hours left until I'll be leaving to take my last final of the semester! I should be studying right now, especially considering how my body decided to wake me up at 5. I truly am terrible at getting sleep! All this talk about spinal tracts, sodium potassium pumps, neurons, ahhhhhhhh!!! I guess I really better look over my notes again...

Oh and what stinks is that I won't be finished after my final. I'll have my supervisor evaluation meeting. Then I'll have to work on my final group project assignment for language disorders, which she only assigned in our Tuesday night class last week! Not cool

Friday, April 30, 2010

Figaro, figaro, figaro...tomorrow


The speech science final is the only thing I was able to cross off of my list on my mirror. Yes, I write my to do list on my bathroom mirror. Oh and it's written in phonetics. I am that cool! The reason why I could cross any of my clinic work (i.e.,SOAP notes, summary reports, treatment plan) off was because the server for the clinic was down until 7:30 pm. I had planned on staying to work on it all day, which obviously couldn't happen without the server working. It went down Wednesday morning. For 3 days, we could do absolutely nothing with our client information. No bueno! Now I'll have to go in the morning, which wouldn't be so bad except for the little fact that I have a neuro final Monday that I haven't even begun to study for. Ooops!

So the speech science final was ehhhh, I don't really want to talk about it. I will say we had to read spectrograms on the test, which let me tell you is no easy task. The second word I had t (blank) (blank) a r o (long o). I couldn't tell for the life of me what the two blanks were. I knew the second was a vowel, and I thought the third could be a nasal but then decided against that because I didn't see the antiresonance and because it was narrow. So after much thought I just decided to make the word "figaro" so I changed the "t" to an "f" and just plugged in the next two phonemes, even though I didn't really think there was a stop ("g") in the third position. For some odd reason, the only word I could think of that ends in "aro" was "figaro". Who even thinks of that word? Needless to say, it wasn't "figaro" but instead was "tomorrow". Yes, a normal word.

Just so you know spoonfuls of chocolate chips and peanut butter chips make a good snack for "not even pretending to study" time.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Where'd marker go?!

The last week of therapy and class has commenced. Now the real stress of the semester begins in the form of summary reports, final SOAPS, treatment plans, discharge forms, apparently testing summary forms, and finals. Oh and I should mention nothing could be done of the first three things the past two days due to the clinic's server being down. Yes, during the worst possible time for it be down. I REALLY REALLY hope everything is back up and working by tomorrow. All this needs to be finished by Monday, So in 4 days. Ahhhhhhh!!!

The second to last day of therapy something AMAZING happened. A client made a funny by doing what I had modeled all semester as an early developing question--show marker, put in lap, ask "Where'd marker go?" and gesture where with arms, pull from lap and say "in my lap" in response to the question. It was absolutely adorable and awesome to see!

Tomorrow morning will be the speech science final exam. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! Who ever thought I would actually be able to read single word spectrograms?! Now I just hope I can do it on the exam... I'm oddly not really too worried about the test even though I should be! I think I'm just ready to get it over with. I've studied and just don't know what else to do. Only time will tell if I'm prepared...

Sunday, April 25, 2010

What's that in the road a head?

I finished my last homework assignment EVER in speech science today! It consisted of noticing the duration, amplitude, and fundamental frequency changes during stressed and unstressed words/syllables. Two of the sentences we had to notice these changes was between "What's in the road ahead?" and "What's in the road a head?" Crazy how much prosody changes the meaning of a sentence. Or even a word for that matter like "record" the noun and "record" the verb. If the stress is on the first syllable, it is a noun. If the stress is on the second syllable, it is a verb.

Time keeps on truckin by. Yet, I would like for it to go a little faster. Just until I finish the semester. Then I want time to go very, very slowly in May! I have a lot of things to do...go to a Razorback baseball game, fly a kite, rollerblade on the bike trail, eat grasshopper crepes, go to Devil's Den, babysit an AWESOME almost one year old, hang with an AWESOME five month old, play golf, have an "elementary school food" picnic, help throw a bachelorette party, go to a first birthday party, go to a wedding, and of course hang with my besties and Zach.

Friday, April 23, 2010

What Nasal Sound Am I Making


Another week down! My final diagnostic report for the semester and my sign language final can be checked off my list. Only 10 more days...3 class days, 1 speech science homework, 3 finals, 2 therapy days, 4 finalized summary reports, 4 SOAPs...the end is near :)

It really can be hard to tell whether someone is making a "m" sound or a "n" sound if you can't see the lips. We practiced this in speech science class the other day. Oh and I've got a good joke for you. Why did the neuron go to the gym? To pump more ions. Haha!

This week is almost a blur already. I do know I baked 2 cakes for 2 birthdays of girls in my class. Oh and I went from Monday night at 10 pm until noon today (Friday) without sweets as a challenge from Zach. I win! Today I more than made up for it with the insane amount of sugar I consumed.

Tonight I got to dress up like the early '90s for the end of the semester party at a professor's house. There was a theme to wear what you wore the first day of school in elementary school. The outfit I put together included a Tinkerbell t-shirt with the side pulled together in a hair thing, hot pink capris, a side ponytail, and shoes that had ice cream pops on them. This is definitely not something my mom would have let me wear the first day of school, but it is something I would have probably put together back then.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Bilabial Blue, Velar Green

It's been another whirlwind of a week! Only 18 more days until May break!!!

You know you're in grad school for SLP when...
  • in class multiple people say bibabial blue and velar green when the professor asks what color he should use to draw loci and transitions of consonants
  • you love to write in phonetics
  • you find it cool to see movement of the soft palate and faucial pillars
  • you feel like a bag lady because you have to carry around so much stuff
  • you tell people what you're getting your degree in and people have no clue what it is
  • you say, "Sorry I have pragmatic issues" when you interrupt someone
  • you go to concerts and think about what singers are doin to their vocal folds (you cringe just thinking about it)
  • you wonder how anyone is "typical"

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Don't Stop Believing



Fayetteville was a fabulous time as always. Should I expect anything less? Of course not! Dickson St, Wilson Park, cake baking, Mimi's Cafe, and Michelle's bridal shower...nothing could go wrong with a schedule like this!

My little weekend trip meant little was accomplished in the way of school...Of course I finished my SOAPs and teacher surveys before I left Friday. Saturday I read like 5 pages of Speech Science...Tonight I've been practicing "Don't Stop Believing" in sign language.

I tried to explain what all a SLP did to someone today. It's rather difficult to explain all the types of jobs covered under speech-language pathology. It made me realize I have SOOOO much to learn about that I really have no clue about.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

The Cerebellum Is The First To Go...

It's very exciting to think about how it is the end of the semester. However, it is pretty terrifying to think about how much I have to do. Next week especially will be no fun! I have to do ending status probes and get language samples on 4 clients Tuesday and Wednesday. Then I'll have summary reports on them due Friday. Plus Thursday I'll have a diagnostic so I'll spend all Thursday afternoon writing the diagnostic report. Then in my Thursday evening class I'll present a song in sign langauge. Oh and I'll have speech science homework due Friday as well. What makes all this even more fun is I absolutely cannot do anything for any of this until I get all my data Wednesday. (I have clinic and then class until 5:30 Wednesday.) Well I can practice my lyrics for sign language after I finish writing my SOAPs for this week and making teacher surveys for my client's teachers. Oh and I'm driving to Fayetteville tomorrow for a bridal shower this weekend.

I'm sooo excited about going to Fayetteville. It's too bad the baseball team is out of town for the weekend. At least I'll get to catch them for their last home series in May.

Oh good news in Neuro. My professor thinks my class has done so well on our two tests that he is moving our third test to the final date and eliminating the comprehensive final. Hooray!!! Just so you know when you drink alcohol your cerebellum is the first to go. That's why sobriety tests are the same type of tests given to people with damage of the cerebellum.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

"I just broke FERPA..."

Another week and a half has flown by, and here we are already in April.

That everdreaded speech test I was talking about took me on a hot air balloon ride. My professor handed back our grades on the test on little slips of paper with the points you made on the test and the total points you have in the class. The grade next to my name on the test was 10 percentage points higher than I had expected for the test, which is only like 3 more points considering the test is only out of 30 points. This is when I stepped unexpectedly onto a hot air balloon. I was elated! I thought Sweet. I had left the 3 answers that I kept changing the answers with the correct ones. Later that night I was talking on Facebook chat to a girl in my class with the same last name as me. She told me the grade she got on the test was 10 percentage points less than what she had thought she had made. I didn't think anything of this at first because I was too busy looking at the lineup for Memphis in May. The next morning I was driving to therapy and for whatever reason was thinking about the test and our grades. That's when I reached the halfway point of my hot air balloon ride. I thought He must have mixed up our grades because we have the same last name. When I got home from lunch after therapy, I sent him an email explaining this and that he may need to check our grades. He responded immediately saying he hoped he hadn't made such a mistake but wouldn't be in his clinic until the following day to check. Wednesday rolls around, and he has my classmate and me come into his office before class. That's when the hot air balloon for sure landed. He started off by telling us he broke FERPA. Some act about not showing other people students' grades. We told him we really didn't care that we obviously shared our grades with each other. Otherwise, we would never have known about this. Then, he turned to me and said Typically, I only have students tell me they thought they did better on a test and not worse. I tell him I couldn't take a grade that wasn't mine.

My overall grade for the class is now 5 percentage points less than what I had thought that Monday afternoon, but that's ok I know it's the grade I earned, and I can still pull it up with the final!

Time to get back to speech sciencing...
Yay for homework about spectrograms...

Friday, March 26, 2010

Funiculus and Ipsilateral...Just a few of my favorite words

Another week has flown by, and there are just 5 weeks left of the semester. No complaints here for how fast it's going by. I'm ready for summer break and by summer break I mean the month of May. This will be my last somewhat of a summer off before I grow up and get a big girl job. Haha. That is unless I work in schools, which I'm not thinking I will.

The peak of the week (aka hump day aka Wednesday) included a Speech Science test, which equals no buono. And what did I do on it that I always have a tendency to do--changed 3 answers I had correct to wrong ones. This is why I should not go over my test after I finish! At least it's over with, but this means I need to do well on the final. I probably should start studying now! Or well really after my neuro test on Monday. My two hardest classes always have the tests less than a week from each other.

The night before the everdreaded Speech Science. I woke up a little after 4 am, and my brain was just thinking stop plosive--1) stop gap: oropharynx closed + velopharyngeal port closed + glottis open; high tracheal and oropharyngeal pressures; no flow 2) plosive: oropharynx open; pressures=0; transient turbulent flow 3) aspiration: glottis partially abducted; low tracheal pressure; sustained turbulent flow. The same was happening for frication, vowels, and nasals. [side note:Just so you know if you were trying to say Mom but didn't open your velopharyngeal port you would actually say Bob.] I just kept telling my brain to stop, and eventually it did and let me fall back to sleep for a little bit before 6:07 am rolled around.

Last night I began looking over neuro. The first step was getting out my stack of powerpoints and checking with my roommate that I wasn't missing any. This is a step because I do not have binders. Haha. I, however, was not missing anything he handed out in class. There were a few powerpoints he put on the computers that I had to print this morning. The next step was to start typing out information on the powerpoints.

That step isn't very exciting. Well I suppose none of the steps to studying are exciting... At least I came across the word ipsilateral--one of my favorite words. Try saying it 10 times fast. Haha. Same with funiculus. Oh and I prefer semilunar ganglion over calling it trigeminal ganglion. I've gotta find some amusement in the words for neuro, or I don't know how I'd make it through.

Speaking of which...I better get started on neuro for the day...

Oh I forgot to mention my favorite activities I planned for therapy this week. My older ones (kindergardners) made video cameras using posterboard, cheezit/vanilla wafer/sandwich bag boxes, and construction paper. Then they "filmed" each other making the "news" holding microphones. They LOVED it! I just love coming up with creative activities for them.

Ok, protopathic and epicritic somasthesia pathways here I come...

Monday, March 22, 2010

SB 2010 F&LR

So my blog has turned into my countless attempts at keeping a journal...not consistent.

Life the past two and a half weeks has been full of ups and downs, but there's no need to focus on the downs.

SB 2010 F&LR= Spring Break 2010 Fayetteville and Little Rock. I figured since people label trips to Panama City Beach as SB 2010 PCB I could do the same with my destinations...

I had a fabulous spring break in Hog Country. There's something about driving into a town and seeing Razorbacks on every car, hills, and even Lindsay apartments everywhere that makes me smile. I mean I don't know how anyone wouldn't love Fayetteville. I spent my first night in town at two of my favorite places--Hugo's and Willy D's/Fix with my SLP Hogs. We danced our booties off, and we totally started that dance party. Haha! My second day was spent out to lunch with 2 of my favorite girls and then off to the Arkansas-Ole Miss game, which wasn't pretty but at least the company was amazing! My company was 2 more of my favorite girls and they're significant others plus their beautiful offspring! I got to hold the cutest cheerleader and the cutest Hog fan throughout the game. Then it was off to another one of my favorite Faytown locations, Jose's, with more of my favorite peeps. Then we hit up Sideways per request of the boys since they would not go to Speak Easy for old times sake. I can't imagine why! Abby and I could only handle so much fun at Sideways before we decided it was time to leave, and we could not all agree on another bar so we ended up playing Wii bowling. Haha.

Sunday I headed down to Rock town where I had an extremely lazy day. Then Monday I had to attend a funeral of a wonderful lady I'd known pretty much my whole life--Ashley's grandmother. I went over to the neighbor's to see the nursery for the soon to be born baby boy. Monday night was spent with George at Purple Cow and Barnes and Noble. He had never been to Purple Cow! I don't know how that is possible when you are a native Rocker. I'm glad I was able to fix that and show him the best milkshakes! Tuesday was spent walking the base trail at Pinnacle Mountain with Leah. I LOVE Pinnacle! Then we had lunch at our favorite lunch location, Jason's Deli. Then I ran some errands and got dressed up for a night at Cajun's. Wednesday was a pretty lazy day as far as I can remember. I went over to the neighbor's house in the afternoon and to dinner at Cheer's with my parents. The tornado sirens went off for an hour. Thursday was spent at the doctor checking what were swollen lymphnodes in 2006! Yes, almost 4 years ago. I'm switching insurance so he had to resolve what he had written back in May 2006 since I had not gone back... Then it was back up to Faytown.

Thursday night was a nice, quiet night spent having dinner, watching the Razorback basketball team, and playing Skipbo at Abby and Josh's. Friday we had lunch at Rick's Bakery. I just love the free desserts that come with lunches. This time it was chocolate mousse pie. Then I went to Hog Heaven to look for a baby present with no luck but did end up buying myself a hoodie for $8 from the little boy's section. Don't judge. Haha. I also got a $6 baseball shirt. Then I wandered over to the library and had a nice chat with some of the people I used to work with. I had dinner in the Union. I couldn't tell ya the last time I did that...maybe late night junior year? Then it was off to the Gymbacks meet. Then it was time for peppermint patty hot chocolate at Common Grounds. The plans for Saturday had to change because we were not going to sit in the cold, windy, dreary weather to watch the baseball team. Instead Abby and I went to lunch with her mother-in-law and ran errands. We eventually made it to Hugo's for my all time favorite dessert--grasshopper crepes. Then I went over to Kate and Todd's to see them and Logan. Then it was time for game night at Michelle and Josh's. Maggie had on the outfit I gave her. She looked absolutely precious! Game night consisted of Apples to Apples and trivial pursuit. Oh and eating lots of chips and dip and cookies. I left early Sunday morning to get back to reality...

Before I totally came back to reality, I stopped in Little Rock for lunch and to take over a baby present for my neighbor born the Thursday before. Then it was back to Memphis with a night of reality of doing Speech Science homework since I had neglected to do so all week...

Monday came and reality really hit with class from 8:30 to 5:30. Then came clinic Tuesday morning, and I was back in the swing of things feeling like I never even had a break.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Just enJoy your aGe

It's pretty sad when you see or hear words and think that is the phoneme I probed today in therapy. That's what happened to me all day yesterday. I probed the the phoneme for the "j" sound. (This won't let me copy and paste phonemes just like photobooks, and I don't appreciate it one bit!) All day long I kept hearing words with the "j" sound and kept thinking initial, medial, and final. Budget, grudge, jar, edge, pajamas, jelly...It was like the words were surrounding me. *That's why the title of the blog is written emphasizing the "j" sound.

I constantly think about school/clinic related things. For instance, Saturday night when I was at the basketball game I was telling Kelly that the mascots are like a minimal pair because their names are Pouncer and Bouncer. The only difference is voiced and voiceless. Yes, I really am that cool!

Spring break is so close that I can taste it! Our spring break comes earlier than I am accustomed to, but I could not be more happy about the timing! I am ready for a break. Plus this way spring break falls exactly halfway through the semester. This year I'm not going to Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, or Las Vegas for spring break like I have in the past. This time instead I'm going to the Natural State (aka Hog Country), and I cannot wait! I'll venture by way of the lovely I-40W to I-540N stopping in the one and only Faytown this weekend! Then for the week I'll find my way back on I-540 this time going South and then onto I-40E taking an exit to Rocktown. Then it'll be back on I-40W to I-540N for another weekend in my second hometown. I'll stop there. No need to think about what will come next...

The only thing that stands between me and crossing over the mighty Mississippi is finishing my SOAPs and sign language class. Not a bad deal at all. Oh and of course there's the laundry, room cleaning, and packing. Boy, am I glad my clinical supervisor had jury duty this week. Well I mean not because she had jury duty but because that meant no diagnostic today giving me a chance to get ready for this little adventure I will begin tomorrow.

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Resting Expiratory Level, Mechanical Tuning, Ahhhh All I Want to Do is Play WWF... Words With Friends

Technology is my greatest distraction. I could care less about having a TV but take away my iPhone and my laptop, and I probably wouldn't know what to do with myself. Maybe I would be more productive with my schoolwork, but then again I need my laptop for most of my schoolwork...

However, for the assignment in question--the ever dreaded speech science--I do not need my laptop. All I need is the good ole textbook and the worksheet. Nevertheless, I find myself sittin on the couch with my pink Sony Vaio in my lap, my iPhone in it's black and pink Otterbox protector within centimeters of my leg, my textbook next to me, and the worksheet on the book. I've been like this for a few hours and still haven't completed the homework.

Maybe it's because I keep checking Facebook, my email, and news websites. Or maybe it's because I keep checking all my Words With Friends games. Or maybe it's because I'm starting yet another photobook. Or maybe it's because I keep responding to texts. Or maybe it's because I'm writing this very blog. Do you see the trend here?

Two of my most prized possessions offer an abundance of distractions. Yet, I couldn't pass grad school without either one of them. I need my laptop to type lesson plans, study guides, do research, check emails, etc. I need my phone to get instant help from fellow classmates if I have a question, get in touch with supervisors, check important emails when not at a computer, etc. Obviously, I could just delete all of my distractions and just use these items for the above, but do I really want to do that? The answer is no. I feel these things are a type of outlet for me and keep me connected with others, but I can decrease the amount of time I spend doing all of these things...

Saturday, February 27, 2010

It's a small world after all. It's a small world after all...

So today began like pretty much any other day. I woke up around 4:30 and told myself I had to go back to sleep. Then at like 6:23 I woke up bright-eyed and ready for my breakfast of champions--maple brown sugar oatmeal with a banana, yogurt, and chocolate milk. I woke up so early for no reason so I just bummed around, worked on a lesson plan, talked to my mom on the phone, read the news online--the usual. Time seems to run away from me when I begin to read the news. Before I knew it, it was already 9:30 and time for me to go to Zumba.

Zumba always puts me in a good mood! Ya know a booty battle is a great way to start the day. We split up in teams and face off taking turns booty dancing. Haha. After that the day just went on, and I'm not really sure what I did with all those hours. Then it was time to go to my first University of Memphis Tigers basketball game.

Kelly picked me up. We headed to the Fed Ex Forum. Luckily, we found a great parking spot on the street so it was free. We stumbled into the Forum not really knowing how the whole student ID thing worked. We were directed to a student line where there were tables set up with free T-shirts. It was homecoming, and we had no idea. I now have my first U of M T-shirt! Wahoo! They even had smalls left. Another plus.

We sit down in our assigned seats. I see the players still practicing and look up to see the time clock say 49 minutes remaining before the game starts. I thought the game started at 7 ET/6 CT. It is now 6:10 CT. Ooops the 7 must have been CT. Oh well at least there were newspapers on the seats to read. The purpose of the newspapers was really to pretend like you were bored and reading when the other team's players were announced.

The game started out slow but ended up being exciting. We beat Southern Miss 76-69. The craziest thing about the game is that the guy sitting next to me did the Disney College Program in 2006 and went back for a professional internship in guest relations in January 2008, which was in a building directly across from Tony's. What are the odds? He moved back literally the week I left, and he started grad school at U of M this past August. So it really is a small world after all!

Friday, February 26, 2010

Mid South Meets Elvis

Today concluded Day 2 (and the final day) of the Mid South Conference for Communicative Disorders hosted by the Memphis Speech and Hearing Center. This is the largest student run conference in the country for Speech Language Pathology and Audiology. It was held at the beautiful Hilton Hotel in East Memphis. Yesterday I spent 12 lovely hours there and today 10 beginning at 7 am both days, which means I left my apartment around 6:15ish. Today I was wiser and wore flats rather than heels. I learned my lesson yesterday.

My duties at the conference included registration, the hospitality suite, and introducing a speaker. All went well. I got to attend a few interesting presentations, eat some delicious food, and wear Elvis glasses.

Things I learned from Mid South:
1) My left foot is probably half a size bigger than my right because I was left foot dominate when I figure skated in elementary school
2) Whenever you see that your conversation partner is getting bored just ask "Do you like jewelry?"
3) TBAR=That boy acts ridiculous
4) In the '60s, studies were saying to give LSD to children with autism
5) How to make an awkward turtle/snowman/platypus
6) People wonder how I can be so energetic without drinking coffee
7) Another SLP who does swallow studies sounds like Dr. Kahane
8) Key lime pie is still one of my favorite desserts
9) Paula Deen makes a dish layered with bread, better, ham, bananas, bread. shredded cheese, crushed potato chips, and crushed bacon
10) I am glad I am going to be a SLP!!!

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Randomness

So here it is...my first blog. I watched Julie and Julia during our first snow of the year at my friend Rachel's apartment and thought I wanna start a blog. That thought left as soon as the snow did. Just like the snow that thought came back via my friend Kate. However, I sit here wondering what could I possibly blog about... I'll start with 17 random facts about me:

1) I like to set things, whether it be an alarm clock or a microwave, ending in either a 3 or 7. Hence, the 17 random facts

2) I love, love, LOVE to travel, and I like to have itineraries when traveling anywhere but the beach. I feel there is so much to see and do that without somewhat of a schedule laid out many things will be missed. However, the beach is truly just for being a bum

3) I am addicted to making photo books. Shutterfly, Snapfish, Photoworks, Walmart.com, I don't discriminate

4) My veins are probably 80% sugar a majority of the time. What can I say I'm related to my mother? If you know her, you'll understand

5) I have a new hobby of baking. It's just so much more fun to make sweets

6) I would prefer to write everything in phonemes than in graphemes

7) I buy cocoa all year long and use it to just make chocolate milk.

8) I have to drink all my water whenever I go to a restaurant even if it means chugging it when getting up to leave. I try to avoid having my glass refilled at the end of a meal

9) Since I graduated high school, I have lived in 5 cities. I've decided Fayetteville is my favorite

10) I am terrible at sleeping. My body just doesn't let me do much of it

11) I like to rollerblade, hula hoop, and do cartwheels. Hopscotch and 4 square would probably be on here if I had someone to play with

12) I LOVE to dance!!! Zumba is one of the best things about my week. I can't wait to graduate so I can take dance classes again

13) I remember people's half birthdays...sometimes even their 3/4ths birthday

14) I am competitive, especially with boys. I'm not interested in a boy if I'm not competitive with him

15) I am up for just about any adventure outside

16) I am a photo fanatic! That is probably an understatement

17) I hope to one day have a family and have playdates, bake all the time, and go on girls' weekends every once in a while