It has been a while...

I am sick, but I think my illness will benefit me because I can get rid from .... temporarily.
I am still staying in my friend's apartment, and I am hoping to move to a new apartment soon..

Kids at my workplace drove me crazy today. One of them argued w/ me just because I didn't allow her to sit next to boys in the living room. Another one was acting out, he demanded a lot of things. Hey, I am not your nanny!!!!
One girl also came and told me all the dramas that have been going on in shelter during past three days. * Sigh....

I am glad that I am off tomorrow so I'll take advantages my free time to refresh my mind. They really drive me nut!!!

Despite all the troubles they created, I got new experience from them. For instance, I personally don't like to hike or walk in the middle of bushes and trees. Today, I have to do that thing because I can't let my clients walk by themselves. I thanked them for their patience. I told them honestly that I didn't use to do this activity.
Moreover, another girl taught me how to play a card game called "speed." (I believe this is the exact name they refer to.. I'll double check..)

I know that these kids won't put my name as one of their favorite staff, and I don't expect it either. However, I learn and try to be the best relief worker they ever met. I am hoping that one day shelter will always remember my contribution to shelter and YSS. :)

Well..
I am better off now..
Thanks for reading it!

Hate....Hate Moving... Hate...Hate....

I had moved all my stuff to my friend's apartment and had a carpet cleaning this morning. I was surprised that the carpet in the bedroom area was still wet, even though the AC has been turned on for five and half hours. As I said on my previous blog, my apartment is quite old, so each apartment only has one AC which located on the living room. I guess this is the reason some areas are still wet..

I finally left the window slightly open to help the dry process. I'll come back tomorrow after I get off from work. *Sigh...

@_@

89 F

Ooh...
I try to not use AC frequently as a way to cut my electricity cost, but it doesn't work. Today's weather is so hot and dry. I had opened my two huge windows, but I still sweated..

I almost finish cleaning my apartment and ready to move. It took a while to clean the kitchen appliance because the previous resident didn't clean it for me. FYI, I subleased this apartment from someone else, and the only thing that he took care before he left was the refrigerator. I had to take out nails from the wall, clean the stained area above the stove... (I don't know the exact name of this one...), and etc.

What else??
I threw another pile of paper from my previous HRI classes since I wouldn't go back to hotel school anymore. :P

I did my laundry this morning because I probably won't be able to do it in my friend's apartment.. She indeed has a washer/dryer in her apartment, but I am afraid that it will add her utility cost..

Hmmph...
that's for today!

p.s. I bet you have been listened to Fergie's new song, "Big Girls don't Cry." I like this song... I want to play a swing every time I listen to this song..

Turtles...

My friend told me that her baby turtles had been delivered to her apartment this morning. She bought termometer to ensure that the water is on the right temperature and a halogen lamp to create a "sunlight" for turtles. She even collected rocks from outside to make a small island..hehehe...

Anyway, she is happy, and she is currently staring at her baby turtles..

Stay late at shelter..

Again, I was informed that shelter needed a PRN to cover someone else's shift. I asked my prog coordinator if I could leave at 9 PM instead of 11 PM so that I could catch the bus. She agreed with me, but she asked my day manager to check if I could stay late until 11 PM which was the normal schedule. She also said that other full-times probably could give me ride to home. We had one regular youth specialist and one youth flex in addition to myself. I knew at that time that they would need me to stay until 11 PM, so I told them that I would ask my friend if she could pick up me at shelter.

Thanks to my friend who wanted to pick up me at 11 PM last night.
However, I felt bad when I knew that my friend had been waiting for me for half hours at parking ramp by herself. She apparently went to WalMart to buy some stuff, and instead of going back to her apartment, she decided to go directly to shelter. Her boyfriend wasn't in Ames and the girl that normally hanged out w/ her didn't show up last night, while another boy who went to WalMart w/ her decided to go home early. :(

I promise that I won't let this thing happens again...

Black Forest Cake....

I made a black forest cake yesterday morning. The cake tasted a little bit bitter due to I read the recipe incorrectly. :P Fortunately, it tastes better when I put cherry filling between the layers and on the top of the cake. I recommended my friends to eat it with vanilla ice cream.

I also noticed that the cake was not moist,but this one was not my fault. I will try another recipe to check if I can get a better one. :)

So, that was my morning activity, then I went to change my address at post office and banks. I don't mind to move from one place to another, but I don't like to change my address frequently. I am afraid that I will lose my important mails such as, bank statements, letters from my workplace, and etc when I change my mailing address. Since I'll not stay in my new apartment until Aug 6, I worry if the current resident who still stay in that new apartment will return the mails to post office or throw my mail or open my mails.

The bottomline is that I worry almost about everything, and I will keep thinking about it until I am convinced that everything goes smooth.. sigh... I wish I could get rid of this particular habit.

Next....
I hanged out at my friend's apartment, and we browsed some websites to look for puppies. I also accidentally met my college friend who used to live accross my dorm's room back in my freshman years. She was in the middle of conversation w/ her friend, while I was studying her back posture from the window. I wasn't sure if it was her, so I called her name, and yay! I was right!
We chatted for about 5 mins because her fiance waited for her in his truck. I was excited when she told me that she would get married on July 28, 2008. :) Right now, she is living in Madrid, IA, but she is working in Ankeny. I believe she is an editor.. (FYI, she used to work in ISU writing center.. hehehe...)

Last but not least,
We had a dinner at local chinese restaurant and visited my friend's place after that. The boy was still hungry, even though he'd already eaten a full plate of ginger chicken. Luckily, the owner of this apartment recently cooked meatballs soup, so he asked if he could have some... hohohohoho.... I think he is in the growing process.. hehehe...

We then headed home...
:)

My First Visit at Univ Child Care Vet Med.

I had an interview at Univ Child Care Vet Med this morning, and that was the first time I went to this facility.

I was greeted by Amy (one of the interviewers), while Molly was busy looking for forms that I would need to fill out. She passed three forms and asked me to complete all of them before she and Amy conducted the interview. I assumed both of them were either a supervisor or program coordinator in this child care.

I applied for a teacher position at Univ Child Care Vet Med, and I actually was a little bit surprised when Molly said that I would work with toddlers. She said that there would be 4 teachers (3 full-time and 1 part-time) for toddler class. I forgot the number of students in each class, but it would be around 15-20 toddlers.

Some of the questions were tricky, and I did my best to answer those questions. I understand that I have limited experience in teaching toddlers because most of my experience is dealing with adolescents and high school students. However, I stated to them the reasons I applied for this position so that they wouldn't get confused with my previous background.

Switching career field from Hotel Restaurant Management to Child Family Services was challenging and somehow difficult to explain. I asked her if she had any concerns regarding my qualifications, but she said nothing. Indeed,I found out that I was the first applicant that went to the interview. She said that she would interview more applicants during this week, so I could expect the result by next week.
I went to short interview with the Bright Horizon's recruitment coordinator on Friday, before I met Molly and Amy this morning.

I asked Molly if I could take a look the classrooms, and she gave me a short tour before I left the facility. I guess I fall in love with this place, and at the same time, I am afraid that I'll be upset if they don't select me for the teacher position. I wonder what Molly and AMy think about me, but I cannot get the answers from them. I guess I'll have to wait until next week to find out the result.

I'll have one more interview at another child care facility tomorrow afternoon. This child care is located on Univ. Village. I have been there once, and it won't be difficult to find the place. I hope that I'll have a fabulous time at Univ Village's child care tomorrow afternoon.

thanks.

-W-

I *************

Have I told you what PRN means? I believe it is a Latin word, but "PRN" means "as needed." Thus, I am obliged to work when:
1. the shelter needs additional staff
2. Full-time staff cannot make their shifts due to illness, vacation, and etc.

Saturday and Sunday (8-1pm) are the days when I have to work (for sure), but I normally work in the afternoon on Sunday around 1 pm.

My night manager called me this morning to ask if I could work from 1-6 PM for her.
She was supposed to cover someone else's shift, but she decided that she didn't want to do it because she had to work again tonight. Sometimes,I don't understand with them, but it happens at shelter.

4th of July
I wish I could watch the parade this morning, but I ended up staying with my kids at shelter. Some of them either did not want or were not allowed to participate in the parade. Thus, these kids were sent back to shelter after had a pancake breakfast. One intern came VERY early because he didn't have anything to do at home, so he decided to come 5 hrs early from his regular schedule. Isn't he amazing?

Three older boys chatted with the intern, while I made an ornament with two younger boys. (I don't know what the name of this ornament.. I'll check it on Saturday and let you know the exact name of this thing..)The older boys talked about movies such as, Saw 3, Hostel 2, Transformer, and Spiderman 3, and other funny stuff.

Lunch time+ free time
Girls had pizzas for their lunch, while boys did bbq with staff at porch. I was glad that they did not make any trouble during this period of time. Some kids showed their talents (dancing, singing, and acting) to us, and I was hoping that I could take their pictures. I suddenly forgot all the bad things they did when I was watching their short performance. I believe that these kids and youths are not that bad. It is the environment that makes them break the rules, and I am sure some staff agree with me. :)

Anyway, I made my day at shelter. Thanks God!

Happy 4th of July!

Pineapple Bread Pudding+ Green Mung Bean Soup

My weekend went pretty well. I made two desserts, finally found an apartment, and watched Ghost Rider. Still, I feel something is missing or not right, but I don't know which parts that need to be fixed or reevaluated.

I feel hopeless and hate myself...really.