Ok, so the first week of internship was alright. It involved sitting through hours upon hours of meetings and realizing that I have a shit-load left to learn. Shit. Load.
So today I spent my first real day in the office doing LSSP-y things. It was horrifically intimidating. I know that I have a good **cough expensive cough** education under my belt and I know that I have spent countless hours preparing for this moment. Yet, today, the first day I was asked to do something real, I was so overwhelmed. Now, before any of you freak out, I’m sure every intern feels like this during the first few days. Or at least I hope they do, because I don’t want to feel alone. So all you other interns out there, speak up and make me feel better…
Anyway, so I basically spent my first day in a bilingual ARD (my very first) and calling schools across the nation in order to get records on kids who are transferring into our district. Sounds relatively simple, yet for some reason I feel like the slow kid who just doesn’t quite keep up with the rest of the class. I feel like I’m always one step behind because everyone else is so familiar with the terms and classifications and protocol and expectations and I’m just….. not.
But tomorrow is another day. Tomorrow I will be more knowledgeable about how to get information from schools, how to use the fax machine, how to use my calendar and email, and I’ll know just a few more people by name than I did today. So overall, I’m getting there. One tiny step at a time.
Filed under: internship
It has been a week of great change and much (MUCH) learning. Or at least listening to people attempting to learn. Being new is tough. More on all that later. I’m sure I’ll be whining incessantly as I realize I have no idea how to do all of these things they’ve attempted to teach me to do in my first week.
The most amazing thing I’ve learned so far is cooperation. And this doesn’t mean that I have learned how to cooperate with others. I feel that, over the years, I have fostered a relatively well developed ability to share my toys with others without crying. I can also understand when others have ideas different from my own, and I’m no stranger to compromise. However, I have learned that my school district has a version of cooperation that I never thought possible.
During my practicum, I learned that all diagnosticians are morons, and there is a great divide between their capabilities and my own as a LSSP. I witnessed the horrific disdain each group held for the other, and in my naivete, I believed it was like this everywhere. Luckily, this is not the case. I have found a school district where diagnosticians and LSSPs not only get along, but work hand in hand. In fact, I have yet to figure out which of the people I’ve met in the past 5 days are diagnosticians and which are LSSPs.
I am excited to be in a place where personal feelings of superiority aren’t as blatant as I once thought normal. I love seeing professionals working together to better the education of kids throughout an entire district. I can’t wait to see how this plays out over the rest of the semester…
Filed under: internship
Wow. I’ve had so much learning to do over the past two days. Things are moving at a frightening speed, but I’m starting to find out that I’m in exactly the right spot. I’ve been so impressed with the staff here so far and although I’m currently thoroghly overwhelmed, I have great hopes for the next year. I think this internship/job is going to offer me the very things I need and want to continue my education in this great profession. From what I have witnessed so far, this district has a very firm grasp on what is important and what is trivial. They are focused on having an organized system for caring for the educational needs of students and making sure they are served quickly, efficiently, and completely.
I’ve only been through two days of training so far, but tomorrow will be the true test when I go to my campuses and meet my co-workers, get my office set up, and find out what the heck I’m supposed to be doing. Wish me luck!
Filed under: internship, Musings | Tags: elementary, internship, middle school, placement, school psychology
Well, I finally have my internship assignment, and I will be working at an elementary school that is about 5 minutes away from my house, and a middle school!! I’m very excited and I can’t wait to go through training and start meeting people at my campuses. Can’t wait to start telling you all stories!
Well, not much has happened on the internship front, so today’s update is for WEDDING STUFF!!!
I’m sure you’re all very excited.
Planning has been going well. Not sure how much you all know, so I’ll start from the beginning. I already have my dress and alterations are done. I have my shoes, veil, and jewelry pretty much nailed down. Mike and I got a venue picked out in June, and it’s all-inclusive, so they do the majority of the work as far as decorations, etc. go. We finally nailed down a great photographer (www.jmarkphotography.com) and things are moving along there. My girls are in the process of ordering dresses, and now I just need to get their bouquets conceptualized and made, as well as my own, and get corsages made for the grandmothers.
Anyway, in the interest of letting people in my hometown know that I’m getting hitched, mom decided to put an engagement announcement in the paper. However, to do so, we needed an engagement pic to go along with it. Therefore, in a leap of faith, Mike and I have asked our parents and dear friends with photographic skill to take an assortment of photos of us in an attempt to get a handful of engagement shots that are, in a word, awesome. So we went to the lake this past weekend and my mom, dad, and aunt Brenda each got a camera and took about a kajillion pictures. Here are the ones that turned out great. Enjoy!
So the ole blog is going to be taking a turn for the professional. I’m hoping to somewhat regularly document my experiences during my first year of having a big girl job. One with a paycheck and benefits and everything. 
There are so many of you out there that I don’t get to see enough anymore, so I want to be able to share my experiences somehow. So if you’re new to Wishful Thinking, WELCOME! And yes, that means everyone but Krystal and Mike, cause we all know they’re the only ones who even knew about the existence of this blog before now.
Oh yeah. There will be wedding planning updates as well, because let’s face it, it’s gonna be on the brain…
Filed under: Musings
Krystal did this on Facebook. I feel the need to do it as well. Baaaaah.
1. Where is your cell phone? pocket
2. Your significant other? Mikey
3. Your hair? pigtails
4. Your mother? focused
5. Your father? awesome
6. Your favorite thing? comfort
7. Your dream last night? forgot
8. Your favorite drink? juice
9. Your dream/goal? degree
10. What room you are in? lounge
11. Your hobby? reading
12. Your fear? failure
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? home
14. Where were you last night? alone
16. Muffins? yum
17. Wish list item? money
18. Where you grew up? Canyon
19. Last thing you did? typed
20. What are you wearing? pants
21. Your TV? heavy
22. Your pets? Shopvac!
23. Friends? leaving
24. Your life? uprooted
25. Your mood? worried
26. Missing someone? always
27. Car? German
28. Something you’re not wearing? Glasses
29. Your favorite store? Loft
30. Your favorite color? green
33. When is the last time you laughed? weekend
34. Last time you cried? yesterday
35. Who will resend this? blerg
36. One place that I go to over and over? Lake
37. One person who emails me regularly? Dad
38. My favorite place to eat? Home
39. Why you participated in this? avoidance
Filed under: Musings
I moved into a new house on Sunday.
I got a job on Wednesday.
Mike gave me a ring on Saturday.
Pretty sure this week is going to go down in the history books as best week of ever.
This is the noise I’ve been forced to listen to for 9 out of the past 24 hours. Apparently my landlord is so ready to sell this shithole that they decided to put on a new roof WHILE WE’RE STILL HERE! It’s like they’re flipping the house before we can even leave. Which sucks. Not only am I living in the disgust of pre-moving, but I’m having to do it with the constant thump of the hammer and the pitter-patter, get this, OF CHILDREN’S FEET on my roof. Because the dude has a couple of 7-year-olds up there with him. I can’t even make this stuff up.
In other news, THERE’S A HOUSE! My new address is pending a signature on a lease document, and I will have a home! It’s in Round Rock, it’s a duplex, and it’s awesome. Awesome Awesome Awesome. I like having an address. I’ll fill you in with more once I actually get to see it without people in it.
Also, one week from today, I will be interviewing with the nice folks over at RRISD. I request that you all keep your fingers tightly crossed, cause I REALLY want this job.
Whew…. so much going on. I can’t wait for July to get here and for my world to come to a screeching halt for a bit.
Filed under: Musings
Wow. So much has happened over the past semester.
Clinical Skills: Done and passed.
Practicum hours: Done and passed.
Internship: ???????
So apparently finding internships in Austin is like pulling teeth. They don’t have formal internship positions, so going up against licensed professionals is not an easy thing to do. Not to mention even finding openings to apply for is not as easy as planned. Oy vey.
Mike and I are also looking for a home, and that’s been an adventure. Finding a place that wants us plus our crazy mutt is hard enough, but finding a place in our price range that doesn’t have a creeptastic neighborhood is challenging. We’ve got a few prospects to check out this week, so fingers are crossed.
And finally, we’re preparing to throw an outrageous party in December. Keep your calendars open for the weekend before Christmas. It promises to be more fun than you’ve had in a long time.
So much to do and plan, and not much time or money to do it. We were born for such trials as these, for they will only make us stronger.
Or kill us.
