Rough Week- First FULL WEEK of class

HERE WE GO...

This blog will include 3 reasons of why my week was/is going to be a little rough.

(Reason # 1) Chicago Bears lost--

That means no Super Bowl shuffle this year... BOO! On the positive side, I can now focus better over the next two weeks on OT work and not planning a Super Bowl party. (Not sure what the Super Bowl Shuffle is? Click the picture- [left])

(Reason #2) KU lost...

After blowing a lead, they never recovered.

Here's the story from espn.com. (KU is my Alma Mater)

(Reason #3) CLASS STARTED...

...OK, ok. So it isn't that bad- but any type of schooling has its stressful moments. Last week we had a short week due to a dumping of snow in the KC area (which happened to include RU closing). I am excited to get back into the groove of school/work/schedule but also am getting a better idea of the work that will be necessary over the next 5 months. Our research group is starting to plan and I appreciate their open communication and planning work ethic. The research should be interesting but there is a lot of work to do. (More on the Capstone Project to follow in later posts).

OT Thoughts: Balance is hard to find in any setting and stage in life. Eat. Sleep. Exercise. Work. Study. Family time. Fun time. Hobbies. Relationships. Etc. OT's try to help their patients/clients find a balance in life while achieving independence in their day to day life. My goal (as it is every semester) is to plan well and balance my life between school, work, studying, wedding planning, and leisure time- on top of my hierarchy of needs to eat well, exercise, sleep, and not be a bear when stress starts to rise. Have a good week.

Christmas Break 2010 ending

Winter Park, CO-

To finish off Christmas Break, my fiance's family and myself went into the mountains for a few days (Denver, CO- Winter Park). The picture (left) is my last run for the day before we started heading back to Kansas. I only went up for a day because I got some kind of 24 hr flu or altitude sickness, but it was fun nonetheless. I took this opportunity to enjoy Mother Nature's beauty, think about my plans for the new semester and enjoy the snow since KC has been lacking all winter in this department.


Personal Review: Winter Park is a nice ski town- we went on priceline to get a hotel which saved some money (not to mention paid for breakfast as it was included). The girls did some shopping and we tried an Indian restaurant at the strip mall right off the main drag.


OT Thoughts: There were some people talking on the lifts about 'people with disabilities that were skiing'. Several skiers were talking about how a'guide' would tell blind skiers when to turn and others were talking about some of the adaptive skis the skiers used (there was a part of the mountain designated the week before, I believe, for adaptive skiing). (Here is an article on what the one experience is from a blind skiier- not from this particular ski resort.) Even though I have not experienced much adaptive skiing (except via youtube) I find these individuals pretty amazing to continue practicing this hobby. As a future OT, I think its pretty awesome that technology has advanced and that people are still living life to the fullest while participating in such hobbies like skiing. I know that Rockhurst has been in contact with Snow Creek (Weston, MO) for opportunities to volunteer to help in some camps similar to the ones offered in Colorado. For this opportunity or other opportunities you can contact the NSCD.org.

Break (post Christmas/pre New Years)

Now that the Christmas holiday and events are over I am starting to look into how I am going to spent the rest of my break. I am setting my game plan to enjoy the rest of break while staying on top of my assignments for our Capstone group (more info in future blogs). This is difficult to find the balance between doing things that I enjoy and doing things that I need to stay on top of so that our capstone is on pace for the research and development portion that will take place over the next couple of months. I am hoping to 'recharge my battery' by getting out of KC for a few days to central Kansas and then onto Denver. The weather has been pretty crazy in Kansas City- there has been minimal snow and the temperature today has gotten up to around 59 degrees. Happy New Year.

Christmas Break/Welcome

Welcome. This is my first blog entry so I thought I would take it as an opportunity to say 'hello', 'Merry Christmas' (as I am on break), and 'Welcome' to my blog.

I am a new blogger to this forum and have been chosen to give you a tour into the Masters Program of Occupational Therapy at Rockhurst. I am a part-time student, I have worked for 2 years in public health before going back to school, I am a male (obviously) in a mostly female field (OT), I am originally from Illinois and am a resident of Kansas. If any of these seem interesting or as though we relate, PLEASE follow the blog. My goals and objectives for this blog are to inform you (the reader) of what RU OT Masters program looks like, what OT is, and how I am working to find a balance in life between school, work, and my personal life.

Thanks for checking out the blog and feel free to post comments, questions, or suggestions as this blog will be a learning progress through the semester and my career at RU.

-John