Monday, June 18, 2007

This Reminds Me....

...of why I don't miss living in Seattle. I've been in Seattle since Thursday evening to visit friends and spend time with my dad for Father's Day. Pretty much the whole time I've been here, the skies have looked like this and the temperature has been a balmy mid-50's to low-60's. The fog and grayness outside have seeped inside my body to create a haziness in my brain and in my limbs, and I've fought off chills from my body's attempt to acclimate itself from the 100 degree heat of San Jose. Funnily enough, when you live in this climate for a few years, you almost fool yourself into thinking that it's not that bad - that it's normal for you to move in slow motion and have constantly bad hair. Tonight, I return to what I once hated, but now have come to call my home - the almost consistenly sunny, congested, and plastic Silicon Valley.

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

General Update

Today was my second monthly visit to my doctor to check the baby. I am 12 weeks or so along at this point. Like usual, I had to pee in a cup, during which time the fire alarm went off. Since it was not a false alarm, the building had to be evacuated. I was about to carry my little yellow cup with me when a nurse took pity on me and gave me a brown paper bag. Still, kind of embarrassing. Finally, when things calmed down, I was able to finish my appointment. I heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time today - so steady and fast. It reminded me instantly of when I heard my son's first heartbeat almost 15 years ago. Not surprisingly, I've lost another couple of pounds (which I can add to the 5 pounds lost at my last visit). I'm sure it's just because of not being able to handle Starbucks, not eating much fast food because of my heartburn, and because I have to walk in the evenings to be comfortable at night. All my blood tests so far are fine, but next time I get the blood tests that tell you the probability for different conditions like Down Syndrome and the like. From that, we can decide if an amniocentesis is needed. I am really hoping to avoid that measure.

On the house front, I am meeting the flooring guy tomorrow at the townhome for an estimate. Our place was built in 1985, and the flooring looks original. I have no idea what kind of cooties are in the carpet, and we definitely have to rip out the carpet in the bathrooms. Seriously... who the hell puts carpet in the bathroom? Sheesh! Friday morning, the paint guy will come give an estimate, so we'll see how much we need to shell out before even moving into our place. The good news is that there doesn't appear to be any other problems that need our attention right away, and everything is set to close on June 22.

At work, my last day is June 21, which can't come soon enough for me. I'm pretty much mentally drained and going through the motions at this point. Good thing that I'm not doing much therapy since this is the time of year for all the field trips. I will still work at my contracting job until the baby comes, but it's such a relief to know that I will not be returning to the schools. Just as I prepare to make my exit, I get an email from our union president regarding the government finally taking notice of the SLP shortage in the public schools and the explosion of our Autistic population (who all need intensive speech/language support). They're just now pulling their heads out of their asses to notice this problem? It's been happening for a while. The thing that makes me shake my head is the structure of the communique - basically listing all of the statistics on attrition rate of qualified professionals, incidence and prevalence of Autism, and the increase in litigation as a result of reduced services, but only briefly mentioning that "something must be done about this". I know what that means - it will be several years before they agree on what the "something" is that must be done. Blech.

On a happier note, besides the horrible heartburn, I am finally feeling better. My energy and motivation returning. What perfect timing since I need to pack, move, get ready for my son to visit for the summer, increase my private client caseload, and finish the final stages of opening my partner's and my private practice.