Ross and I ended our lives of leisure today... we had our first day of orientation at Elim! The day went well, and of course had plenty of associated paperwork. We also began our CPI (Crisis Prevention and Intervention) training. We will learn how to physically protect ourselves/other students and restrain and redirect students with physical behaviors. It is a last resort to use, but definitely something that is needed at Elim. Don't think that all students are violent, but some do have that tendency, and some may occasionally respond that way if something is irritating them and they don't have the ability or skill to resolve their feelings appropriately.
Our training group consists of about 25 people, and it was nice to meet others with whom we will be working. I was able to talk some with a nurse and a COTA, and we both met several paraprofessionals. Ross and I will be working in separate areas of the school. He will be in the ACE program for students with autism, and I will be in the cross categorical program for kids with mulitple needs. The whole staff will be training next week, so we will meet the onslaught of the 300 or so staff members at Elim. Students will then start the Thursday before Labor Day. I won't start treating that first week. The PT staff and I will split the caseload, develop treatment plans, etc. Ross learned more about his role with the 18 and 19 year olds. His classroom is kind of a new development with life skills, and will involve a separate lunch room, the Wii, and various community outings, along with some "regular" school components. All in all, I think we are both excited about our jobs.
So our exploring will be slightly diminished as we begin work, but we do hope to continue biking along some of the local trails, and maybe downtown as well. Last Thursday we brought the bikes downtown and rode along the lakefront--which was amazing. The city of Chicago is accomodating for bikers, but the suburbs are still less than ideal. We did invest in a new bike lock after a Chicagoan informed us that he could cut our current one with fingernail clippers.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Attempting blogging again....
It's been a while since I tried this blogging thing, and a lot has changed! It is no longer winter in the midwest, I have not snowshoed since February, and I am no longer living in Mankato--or in Minnesota for that matter!
I finished my clinicals, found a job, graduated from school, took a board exam, got married, went on a honeymoon and a half, and moved to the Chicago area. Ross and I are now residents of the state of Illinois and have the drivers licenses and temporary voters cards to show it. We were both kind of sad to give up our identity in our native states, but have enjoyed exploring our new area. We have found--with success--the grocery stores, many Targets (unfortunately just one SuperTarget), bike trails, and easy-to-assemble furniture. We even took an afternoon/evening to be tourists downtown Chicago. Yes, we visited "the bean" and Navy Pier. We have not yet taken in Chicagoland sporting events, but hope to see the Sox and Twins later on this season. I hope to make some great friends with ticket connections for the Cubs.
Today we took the opportunity to have another Chicago experience. We received some coupons for Brown's Chicken, a local restaurant chain that specializes in fried chicken, as well as hotdogs, Italian beef, and chicken/beef burgers... and pasta. If you are craving fried gizzards, we found your place. Anyway, since we are Dutch, the time to check out a place is when you have a coupon. I really wanted to try the Chicago Way Hotdog, with onions, mustard, dill pickle, tomatoes, and peppers. Ross went with the Italian beef sandwich so we could utilize a coupon. When asked if he wanted it "Dry, wet, or dipped," he went with dipped, anticipating that they would give us a cup of beef juice/broth for dipping. We got home, pulled out the food... and his ENTIRE sandwich had been dipped in beef juice/broth and then wrapped up! I have no idea how he even managed to hold the sandwich, let alone eat it. After seeing that, we were curious as to how that differed from the "wet" option for the sandwich. And how is a wet sandwich appetizing to begin with?? But the fries were good and I enjoyed the hotdog. All I can say is that it is definitely a good thing we had a coupon. :)
Tomorrow we are headed to Michigan for a quick camping trip at Holland Beach State Park. Hopefully the thunderstorms are very scattered so we do not spend a lot of time soaking wet as we did in Boston. We are planning to spend some time with Ross's family and some college friends. We probably will not eat at Brown's Chicken.
I finished my clinicals, found a job, graduated from school, took a board exam, got married, went on a honeymoon and a half, and moved to the Chicago area. Ross and I are now residents of the state of Illinois and have the drivers licenses and temporary voters cards to show it. We were both kind of sad to give up our identity in our native states, but have enjoyed exploring our new area. We have found--with success--the grocery stores, many Targets (unfortunately just one SuperTarget), bike trails, and easy-to-assemble furniture. We even took an afternoon/evening to be tourists downtown Chicago. Yes, we visited "the bean" and Navy Pier. We have not yet taken in Chicagoland sporting events, but hope to see the Sox and Twins later on this season. I hope to make some great friends with ticket connections for the Cubs.
Today we took the opportunity to have another Chicago experience. We received some coupons for Brown's Chicken, a local restaurant chain that specializes in fried chicken, as well as hotdogs, Italian beef, and chicken/beef burgers... and pasta. If you are craving fried gizzards, we found your place. Anyway, since we are Dutch, the time to check out a place is when you have a coupon. I really wanted to try the Chicago Way Hotdog, with onions, mustard, dill pickle, tomatoes, and peppers. Ross went with the Italian beef sandwich so we could utilize a coupon. When asked if he wanted it "Dry, wet, or dipped," he went with dipped, anticipating that they would give us a cup of beef juice/broth for dipping. We got home, pulled out the food... and his ENTIRE sandwich had been dipped in beef juice/broth and then wrapped up! I have no idea how he even managed to hold the sandwich, let alone eat it. After seeing that, we were curious as to how that differed from the "wet" option for the sandwich. And how is a wet sandwich appetizing to begin with?? But the fries were good and I enjoyed the hotdog. All I can say is that it is definitely a good thing we had a coupon. :)
Tomorrow we are headed to Michigan for a quick camping trip at Holland Beach State Park. Hopefully the thunderstorms are very scattered so we do not spend a lot of time soaking wet as we did in Boston. We are planning to spend some time with Ross's family and some college friends. We probably will not eat at Brown's Chicken.
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