More Growing Pains

I thought Albemarle, NC would be my worst apartment experience ever. Afterall, what could beat 5 nights in an extended stay and inital placement in an apartment that had old musty unmatched furniture and a pile of pills in a cup in the kitchen cabinet.

We have a contender in this move. First, they placed me in Hayward, CA but they switched my office, and my territory, one hour north. That translates to 1-1.5 hours commute every day each way. But it was a very nice spacious wonderful apartment in Hayward.

Then I lose my keys. Okay, I left them in the door- and my neighbor took them "for safety"- and then he kept them, without reporting it to anyone, for 2 days. I was kept busy rekeying my door and finding a club for my car. Okay, that was unusual and completely my fault.

I was unfortunate to be the only one not on vacation during the time my apartment placement problem came to light. My direct boss was on vacation so she couldn't confirm my territory. My housing lady was on vacation, so I couldn't work the lease. The apartment owner was on vacation, so they couldn't clear me for transferring to a sister apartment 1 hour north. So I've been doing the commute for a month.

Last Thursday, I received confirmation that I would be moved. Friday. Or maybe Monday or Tuesday. Well, it didn't happen Friday or Monday- but Tuesday morning I was told it was happening and Tuesday night I moved (Thanks Lisa!- she helped a lot). Last night I abandoned my spacious airy beautiful 857 sq foot 1 bedroom apartment and moved to a tiny 500 sq foot studio in Walnut Creek, CA.

After a restless night I finally rolled out of bed and decided to get an early head start on the day at 6am. I ran the shower- it never got hot. Not even warm. I turned the knob the other way and ran it ten more minutes. Nope. No hot water. I packed up a toiletry bag and headed south 1 hour to my old apartment to take a shower.

As soon as the new apartment office opened I called in the maintenance request and was alarmed to hear that I AM NOT ALLOWED TO PLACE REQUESTS!!!!! I'm not on the lease. I have to, instead, call the contract housing company that my company hires to arrange things and THEY have to call in the request. I asked them if they want me to do this in the even of a flooding toilet and was assured that emergencies could be called in directly. I let them know that the lack of hot water on a work day was indeed an emergency. They did not agree.

So I called the darn contract housing company who called my apartment complex. Let's see if I get hot water.

Good news is that the maintenance guy in Hayward is a very nice Mexican individual who appreciates my attempt to thank him in his native language. He did my walkthrough and said everything looked great. The main desk guy here was telling me I'd have to repaint all the little tack holes from my pictures-- but Jose said he'd take care of it "no problem". I like Jose. First decent guy out here. Amador Village apartments in Hayward has been a lovely place to live for the last month- I'm sad to leave it. But gas prices are too high for 3 hours of driving to and from my territory each day.

The nice thing about Home Health is that I have plenty of paperwork to complete today and only one patient on my caseload today. I've been able to deal with everything. I'll do my actual "work" for the paycheck tonight when I've settled down from this adventure. I'll call my patient in just a little bit to tell her I'll be there this afternoon. I could not have accomplished such a hectic situation with any other job.

A month of being unsettled. A month of not knowing when, or if, I'd be allowed to move. A month of a very long commute. Even I, Ms. Relaxed Easy Going Traveler, am feeling stressed and tired from the situation. My housing lady is stressed. My Rep is stressed. It's just gotta settle down after this, right?

MOMA and Mission District Festival

This weekend I headed out solo on Saturday to explore the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (MOMA-SF) which was housing a special exhibit of Georgia O'Keefe and Ansel Adams works. As a budding photographer, I was very interested in the Adams exhibit and spent a great deal of time examining his photographs and watching a long documentary on his life. I don't have any pictures of these particular exhibits- no cameras allowed!!! Here's a picture of a photographer though (heh).




I'm also always a big fan of sculpture- especially sculptor that's perched on the wall!



And of course, the typical modern art exhibit of strange and unusual things- this time it's a baby surrounded by poodles.



It was a good museum- 5 stories high and not overly crowded. Not as good as MOMA-Massachusettes. I'm a big fan of room size exhibits. This felt more like a typical art museum, but with some strange thoughtful stuff mixed in. I liked the shadow boxes too- but no pictures of them. I could spend another afternoon there and see the stuff I failed to linger at.

Sunday Lisa and I headed to the Mission district for a festival. The Mission district is latino and artsy with beautiful murals defining the streets.



No festival is complete without Aztec dancers praying over it! The streets were closed down for the festival and we dodged bike riders and skateboarders and skaters. People were playing four-square and frisbee down the middle of the streets. Musicians were set up on many corners attracting a crowd. People were out collecting signatures for Prop 8. There was even an area called "Freedom from Training Wheels" where bike club folks were removing children's training wheels and teaching them how to balance on a portion of a closed street. It was really a lovely little festival.



After walking around and absorbing the festival, including some wonderful people watching, we ate at a local place and headed to the park nearby. A few other people had the same idea....

Golden Gate Park, Ocean Beach, and the Cliff House

I'm falling into a pattern here in the bay area! Saturday I sleep in till 8am, get up and eat pancakes, then head into the city! Usually with Lisa the traveling OT who's glad to beat the city sidewalks with me. Sunday is for cleaning house, doing laundry, going to church and finding food.

Yesterday we disembarked at Powell street BART station and caught the #5 bus down to Golden Gate park. I'll have to do another complete day at the park- I just walked through a bit of it this time. It's bigger than Central Park in NYC (according to an article found by Lisa).

For $5 we meandered around the winding paths of the Japanese Tea Garden, and for $3.95 we shared a pot of tea and a bowl of crackers, fortune cookies and rice puff. It was money well spent for a moment of zen. The garden was large enough to get a little lost in, but small enough to find your way out. The tea and cookies were a great snack.



We caught the #5 again and rode it all the way down to Ocean beach which was larger than I thought it would be. It's a good sized slice of sand. No swimming due to dangerous currents, but it's a great walking beach and you can do after dusk fires in their fire pits. The rocks are Seal Rock-- turned white from bird poo and former residence of the Pier 39 sea lions.



We walked up the hill to the Cliff House which has an interesting history and two separate restaurants within its walls. We ate in the more casual upstairs dining area and requested a seat by the window so we could watch the waves and the beginning of the sunset over the water. I ate the Frutti de Mare and it was fabulous. Lots of seafood!



Then the sun began to set. We walked the path down to the Sutro bath ruins and watched the coolest sunset I have ever seen in my life. It was my second sunset over the Pacific ocean, and the first that was unfettered by fog. I smiled the entire time and even did little happy skips as I bounced down the path. God is great. Sunsets over the ocean are proof.



And, just to add to the incredible experience, up on the cliff wall above us stood three musicians. They played drums and pipe until the last edge of the sun had slipped below the horizon. Then they quietly packed up and walked away. I applauded at the end of the sunset. *Sigh* it was cool. If you look in the right hand corner of the picture- you'll see the musicians.

FAQ- TLTR for most people.

Occasionally I get questions regarding traveling. Often it's from a graduate student, but occasionally it's from someone who has a permanent job and feels curious about the differences between traveling and permanent status. My usual response is to write an email to them if they've left an address- but I guess I could just refer them to this link for the most common questions!

Honestly, I'm too lazy to dig up the emails I've had over the last 3 years, but I'll summarize the most frequently asked questions. I'll still answer any specific questions one may have about traveling, but here's the general gist.

1. I'm a graduate student- would you recommend a traveling position for my CF year?

Absolutely not. There are multiple reasons for that strong answer. First of all, contracts don't really want to train you. They expect you to come in the door knowing how to be a Speech Language Pathologist. They want to train you in how to do their paperwork system, where the bathrooms are, and anything else specific to that place of employment. You would do better receiving the experience of a CF from a permanent placement. I'd recommend completing your CF, then working at that same location for at least a year, 2 if possible, before heading out on the road. I strongly recommend teaching hospitals because of the general excitement towards learning that prevail there.

Afterall, you'll often be required to be THE swallowing and communciation expert at a contract. You are representing all SLPs everywhere at that contract. You'll be the first impression into our profession many times. You don't want to be a false expert or a crappy therapist. Inadequate training harms our professional integrity and I would never recommend pretending to know more that you actually do know. A strong foundation will allow you to be an excellent therapist to all your patients- no matter how long you are with them.

I'm embarrassed to share how many times I hear awful stories regarding the contract Speech Therapist my contracts dealt with before. Let's just say the bar isn't set real high for me in many of my contracts. I strive to be the best, most knowledgeable person at my place of work in the areas of Swallowing and Communication. I'm proud to be an SLP and I cringe to know how many bad contract SLPs are floating around out there. Rant over. Get trained, then get traveling, in that order please.

2. How long are contracts?

Usually 13 weeks, though I often will extend. Every contract I've had has asked me to extend my contract. I'm still in this for the traveling and varied experience, so I've never extended past 6 months. If you extend 12 months- there's some tax stuff that starts to occur so it's not recommended. Anyways, if you are extending 12 months, why not just settle in and make it a permanent relationship???

3. Is pay better?

I've found it to be about the same size pay check ( a little bigger?) but the perks are pretty lucrative. I don't pay for my housing (they tell me where to live and I arrive- everything is set up for me down to the shower curtains!) I don't usually pay for my utilities. I get tax credits for gas and phone. Sometimes I even get free cable! My disposable income is pretty high- I'm able to put sizable chunks into savings. If you are saving up for a house or paying off debt- traveling is a great way to do it relatively quickly.

Companies take about half of your money- but you don''t know what they actually charge the "client" so you don't miss it. They do make a good amount of money from you- but they get to do all the stress of finding interviews, writing contracts, and finding your housing.

4. Do you interview for each job?

My resume is sent by my company and a phone interview comes from anyone who's interested. Phone interviews are fun- they can be completed in your pajamas! I usually have my resume in front of me during the interview because it's embarrassing to be asked when you worked last with a certain population and in the stress of the moment you forget which contract you completed where and when! I also take a lot of notes during the interview. Usually I'll have 2-5 interviews in a week (usually a few weeks before the end of my current contract) and I'll decide by Friday which one I'll accept. On the client side, they talk with you and give your company an "offer" or they'll say "no thanks".

5. What companies have you worked for?

I'm currently with Core Medical Group and I like working with them. Contact me if you want me to "recommend you". We'll talk. And yes, I get a bonus for referring you. :-) But I do like working with Core. I worked with Medical Staffing Network for one contract and I didn't like how they dealt with my need to get CEUs (they made me cover costs for both my conference AND for housing costs on the days I had to take off!!!). I would not recommend them based on their poor tolerance for continuing education. I worked for Sunbelt Staffing for over a year. I loved these guys- small company with really great people. I spent quality time with them during the ASHA conference in Miami, FL and they were super. The only reason I'm not still working with them is that they started offering me too many school contracts and I'm a hospital and rehab therapist. I'll work in a school once in a while, but I really thrive off of rehabilitation. If you go with Sunbelt- Julie Cole was a superb rep.

Benefits vary from company to company. Core offers an incentive trip (go read about my Mexico posts from March 2009). Sunbelt offered CEU money and paid vacation time. MSN- who knows- I didn't work with them long enough to accrue anything.

Whichever contract company you work with- talk to several and get a feel for them. Pick a rep who has a similar organizational style to you. Be organized, write things down and for goodness sake--- READ YOUR CONTRACTS CLOSELY EVERY TIME. Don't sign until you are happy with it. I've only ever had to recommend a few changes over the years. Usually it's to add some parking money for city assignments or guarantee 40 hours (necessary to work at least 35 to keep most benefits).

6. Why do traveling therapy?

Everyone has reasons. You can save up money. You get to see different areas of the USA. You get to see various styles of leadership and organization by moving employment locations every 13 weeks. You get exposed to many therapy styles. You learn there are multiple right ways of doing things. You meet lots of people (I overcame a lifelong shyness on my journeys!) You can take lots of pretty pictures. You can taste the food from many ethnicities, live in many different styles of apartments, and try out lots of churches and gyms. I've met travelers who are running from exes, or seeing the world, or just making money. There's no wrong or right reason to travel. Just be the best therapist you can in each location and take full advantage of every hour of every day exploring your new digs.

7. Any further recommendations?

Become organized. Put your stuff in storage. Get the experience you need to be a good therapist and then travel. Keep doing your CEUs to keep yourself updated in the profession.

Pick a location that you will call "home base". Mine is my parents' home. I visit them between assignments if possible. At home base, I have a dentist, a hair stylist, and my storage facility. My boxes that I get into are labeled: "Therapy material for adults", "Therapy material for kids", "Winter clothes", "Summer clothes", "camping equipment", "resource books". That way I can just grab the entire box before heading out to my assignment based on the season and patient population.

If I get sick on an assignment I asked coworkers who their doctor is and then I look it up to see if they are a provider for my PPO- most are. I'm rarely sick- but it has happened. You'll need to see a doctor for an annual checkup anyway (required for most companies). Urine tests are also required by most assignments- they pay for it. Don't do drugs, man. :-) And don't be insulted- they don't know you from the man in the moon so just let them be careful.

Let go of the stress. You will have to complete paperwork last minute ("Gee, the client needs you to fill this out immediately and fax it back!"). You will not know where your next contract will be more than a month in advance. You will not know your new address sometimes until the day you move in (with two of my contracts, and two different companies, I've driven into town not knowing exactly what address I'm heading to- it always works out!) If this scares the crap out of you, then maybe you NEED to travel so you can get over it! :-) There's a certain adrenaline high one gets each time they start a new contract. There's a sense of excitement to walking into a contract or town without knowing exactly what you will have to deal with. You learn to go with the flow and develop a sense of blowing in the wind. I don't stress about that stuff. Housing is not my responsibility. Nothing in employment is so horrible you can't deal with it for 13 weeks. Do what you can do- then walk away from the bad ones. If you get into a situation where they ask you be be unethical- walk away sooner. No GOOD company will prevent you from ending a contract for ethical issues.

In closing: I love traveling. I won't do it forever. I miss building relationships between myself and the doctors. I miss seeing how my patients are doing months and years after I've worked with them. I miss planting professional and personal roots. I miss being in the church choir! I'll be done in the next year or so and I'll have loads of pictures and relationships from across the nation. I'll have done something cool in my life. I have the pictures to prove it.

If there are further questions- post them here. I'll answer in the comment section!

Coit Tower and July 4th

It's so nice to have a good friend close by that's willing to stomp all over town all day long with you! Lisa and I went exploring again this past weekend- this time with my new/old camera in a brand new camera bag. I packed my point-and-shoot camera too just in case.

Here's the Transamerica Pyramid with my old point and shoot (Canon Powershot SD600):



And here's the Transamerica Pyramid with my brother's camera (Nikon D100):



Ummmm... Yeah, when they are compared directly my point-and-shoot Canon is much clearer and has more color. I think the potential for the Nikon may be higher than what I'm reaching. The stuff I used to trick my Canon into doing has an actual setting/button on the Nikon. Anyways, I look like a more serious photographer with the big honking Nikon! I think the key will be taking classes to figure out why this is a better camera.

Okay- on to exploring!

We looped around from Embarcadero station down to the piers and then looped up to Columbus Ave for lunch at Cafe Delucci's. We then ascended the steep incline to Coit Tower.



It was a rather pretty tower.



And for $5 bucks you could take the elevator to the top for some panoramic views of the city (no stair option).



What's really wonderful about this tower are the elaborate murals inside the halls of the base of the tower. They were one of the earliest WPA projects from the Great Depression and showed scenes of California. Apparently they were quite controversial due to the fact that the artists inserted certain political figures as heros and villains in the murals and snuck in all sorts of political opinions- such as this robbery in the picture of the city's financial district.



Here's another one of the "California cows are happy cows" section.



We headed down the street, wandered through Washington Square, and took a small break at XOX Truffles for some bite size truffles and coffee. Then down the street to Stella's pastry- where we shared a small (heheheh) pastry. Lisa is not good for my diet. It's all her fault.

Our only redeeming thought was that we were walking up and down a lot of hills- which was bound to help us work off either the truffles or the pastry. We checked out some hotels for Lisa's upcoming visit from her mom and nephews, then headed down to the piers to pick one from which to watch fireworks.

I'm embarrassed to admit it, but i had read on a SF blog that pier 3 was a great place to watch the fireworks. That information was completely and utterly wrong. Pier 3 was NO WHERE NEAR the fireworks. We saw them in the distance though. Here's my best firework picture from the new camera- I put the shutter speed on 2.5 after much playing around as a compromise between how much exposure verses how still I could keep the camera.



Fireworks are difficult to take pictures of. Not the best subject for the first day testing a camera that's way beyond my ability!

We finished the night at El Mar, a peruvian place the proved to me that octopus does not need to be rubbery or chewy- in fact, it tasted like a tender mild chicken with incredible spices. The crowd dispersed while we ate and flirted with the peruvian waitstaff (they were cute) and we headed back to the east bay area at midnight. And we didn't get mugged. :-)

My best night picture from the new camera:

Gay Pride Parade in San Francisco

For the record, I'm heterosexual.

For the record I have gay friends.

For the record, I consider myself a practicing Catholic.

These are some raging rapids of controversy I have to navigate right here.

I love all my friends and I have a tendency to be non-judgmental personally and professionally. Without going into it too deeply, my God who I worship is a God who appreciates good acts. If you live a good life, and are a good person, then the rest is up to him to judge. I love my friends because they are good people and I accept the people that they love also.

This blog is not to discuss such things. My life right now is measured in experiences. So, on to the Parade!

My old friend Lisa (an OT who I worked with in Baltimore, MD and is now conveniently working in Walnut Creek, CA) arrived separately and met up at the parade. We stood with about 5 ga-gillion people from 10:30 am until 2pm watching various groups march by our spot. We stood with a lesbian couple to our left and a male couple to our right. A heterosexual couple stood behind us. By the end of the parade, we were all very much friends and had caught some awesome stuff. Personally, I caught a bandana from Macy's that says "Pride and Joy", a snow globe with two fellows holding hands in front of SF City Hall (in tuxes), and a condom. The girl next to me caught a vibrator. There weren't a lot of throws at the parade (both Baltimore's Gay Pride parade and the Martis Gras parade in New Orleans left me with so much stuff I couldn't carry it all), but I have to admit the quality was better. I've never caught a snow globe before!!!

I saw some wonderful costumes!





















There were various celebrities and groups ranging from Dykes on Bikes, to Children of same-sex couples on Trikes. There was a group that was angry their penises were snipped at birth and another group stating that they were asexual. There were very stable couples strolling down the street (this couple has been together 21 years) and couples who were involved in subservient relationships:












































There were Protesters.



And police- many of them holding hands with same sex partners.



The book mobile made an appearance and people marched along side with pictures of books that had a homosexual character-- including one holding a picture of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" (Dumbledore came out of the magical closet a while back).



And there was some really random stuff. For example, a bike that appeared to sit 5 people (maybe 6?) and was man-powered.



I'm glad I went. I enjoyed watching the different groups and sharing the experience with the crowd. It always amazes me that no matter how different we are, we all agree that dressing your partner up as a horse and using reins to control him/her is a little strange. The same-sex and different-sex couples around me whole-heartedly agreed.

Growing Pains

Ah, the life of a traveler is fraught with stress.

They changed the office I'm working out of. Instead of a 15 minute commute in the morning, I have between a 60-90 minute commute. I'm not real happy about the commute. The added pain of the moment is the fact that I love my apartment. It's big, airy, high ceilings, lots of natural light, full washer and dryer, nice view from the porch, pool that's large enough to swim laps, hot tub next to the pool...need I go on? It's a lovely place. It's in a cooler micro-climate to boot.

But due to the unexpected change (which I did not approve) I am now facing a move. Maybe. I can't seem to get a straight answer on this situation from anyone due to the fact that the week I started my contract everyone else who was involved went on vacation. My housing lady is on vacation. My immediate supervisor at the contract is on vacation.

I'm left driving 90 minutes to my first patient in the morning. Depending on traffic.

I am awaiting news, and trying to enjoy the apartment while I have it. I'm trying not to feel frustrated every time I fill my car with gas (5 X in two weeks- getting expensive!) I need to move closer to my clients, but I'm pissed because it really is a lovely apartment and the area that my clients live in is a bit more expensive. That means the apartment will be less nice-especially since the money will have to cover the set up of the new apartment.

I've been screwed by a contract change I didn't approve and I'm navigating new waters. I've never had a contract change like this. I like the job and the patients and the coworkers so far- but I'm very tempted to give 30 days notice due to the underhanded nature of this last minute contract change and the resulting effects on my personal life and checkbook. I'm not sure if I'm more angry with the client (company I'm temporarily working for who made the change) or my company (who has been unresponsive to the situation and is failing to both communicate how this situation happened and is failing to respond to it in a timely manner).

Rant over. Time to download some reasons that I travel! I've been busy despite the drama and unexpected crappy commute.