Staying on Track

This morning I went to an open house at the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, and I am still still feeling good about this possible career path. I didn't realize there was a schedule to the open house, so I was sad to find out that I missed the professor that spoke about her work with Chinese herbs. I did however get to hear from other professors in the areas of acupuncture , qi gong (at type of synchronized movement) and tai ji. At the end of the open house I even received oratory acupuncture (on my ear). I have to admit that it hurts a little at first but feels good shortly after. With the open house I received a coupon for a free assessment and acupuncture treatment. I scheduled that for next Monday;Thursday I am sitting in on a class and meeting with one of the academic advisers.

After the open house I came into Evanston to meet with Jess, who I have not caught up with in a long time, and now I am babysitting in Evanston. In general my week had its ups and its downs. On Tuesday I was feeling so fed up with work. I called my grandma on my lunch break and told her that I "couldn't do it anymore" and wanted to quit. Her response, "I really don't know what to tell you." I know it's hard because it would not at all be practical for me to quit my job; I may not make it financially. My boss wasn't there to talk to that day, but the week got better as my ipod bid won on ebay on Wednesday. The night I also talked to my boss after work (6:30) and did not leave her office until 9:30!!

It was such a necessary conversation with her and my co-worker. As a result of the conversation, I am coming in an hour later. She knows about my plans for school and supports me 100%. One of our students has been asked to leave and she plans to talk to a few other parents. She wants me to only work with the Kindergartners. She talked about not letting work be my life, about being young and always pursuing things that I love. etc. As I try and type it all out, I'm not entirely sure how the conversation lasted three hours. The day after our conversation, the student that we had already planned to ask to leave said to another one, "Tomorrow I am going to bring a knife to school and cut your head off." Yes, one of my five year-olds said this. Unbelievable! Her Mom did not pick her up that day, but we had a meeting with her last night as we emphasized that this child receives some psychological help ASAP!!

Yesterday was also my director's birthday. Last Sunday I went to a free class at Whole Foods on Raw Foods (and bought a cookbook, but that's another story). My director likes sweets but also likes to be healthy, so I made her a raw "brownie." I didn't have enough ingredients to have one myself, but I did try a little. It was so simple and really pretty healthy: walnuts, dates, cocoa powder, a pinch of salt and a but of vanilla. I also bought her a relaxation candle to go in big gift basket that the staff put together for her. A few of us took her to Uncle Julio's last night for dinner. I got these delicious vegetable fajitas: roasted potatoes, onions red and poblano peppers, mesquite grilled yellow squash, zucchini and portobello mushrooms, served with black beans and our warm flour tortillas. (I definitely had some for lunch today and will have some more tomorrow.) Speaking of tomorrow... It's the Super Bowl, and I haven't even made any plans.