Workstudy Friday Night

[liveonearth]

I'm sitting here under the stairs watching people come and go from this old school building. The sun is high enough above the ridge, and far enough north, that it is shining through the door and into my face. I don't mind, much. I'm tearing up a bit but it's kind of nice to be in the sun. This is my student workstudy job: security for the school. Make sure no suspicious outsiders come in here, and make sure nobody leaves with major school property. Far as I can tell, this is the best student job of all. Get paid $10/hour to sit here and study, or to chat with people. Though I will try out some other stduent jobs in the future. For example, I'd like to work in the medicinary, to get familiar with the products.

Bonnie, the lady who teaches all the custodian trainees how to mop and empty trash, just took the time to teach me her method from growing tomatoes in a hanging bucket. I think I will try it! I think I have a bucket that we can cut up.

Unfortunately I am going to run out of paid hours for workstudy this year. I am learning how the system works. $1,200 is allocated for each student at the school for workstudy jobs. But not everyone even has a worskstudy job. Having a workstudy job qualifies you to get foodstamps, so it's totally worth doing. Next year I will apply for additional hours so that I don't run out of hours come spring quarter. Maybe I'll work more than one student job. I have been using my tiny ($40/week) paycheck as my fun/mad money, for movies and eating out and such. Without that I will have to take money out of my student loans for that, which is hard for me to do. I don't like going into debt, and anything I can do to spend less and borrow less is fair game.

I've been going for walks a bit lately. Spring is busting out in a big way. Today I walked up the OHSU hill with Craig after Bot Med class. That's a good hill climb. Yesterday I saw a young woman with her very young daughter working in a newly planted garden. They had planted vegetables, herbs and flowers in their entire lawn, and the only strips of grass remaining were in between the planted beds. It made me smile. I also saw an obese lady standing at a bus stop with a sign that said "homeless family needs help". She had drawn lots of child-stick-figures on her sign. These days anyone who has a bit of land to grow vegetables on is lucky.

Ah the sun has now dipped behind the west hills.

I went yesterday to my usual doc at the 1st Ave clinic, and got a recommendation for a new doc. I don't want to go to students anymore for my personal health care. I want to develop a relationship with one primary care physician who can help guide me through the steps toward flourishing. I don't feel comfortable telling all my secrets to students. It's too personal. I don't like seeing them in the hall after they've examined every part of me. So that is that. I will seek a doc where my health concerns will remain more private instead of being a practice case for my classmates. And I feel good about it. Soon I will be the student-doctor in the clinic.

Comments

[labyris.livejournal.com]

So I would love to hear how to do the tomato bucket thing. Would you mind describing it? That is quite a walk up to OHSU but good exercise and there is a killer view from up there on a nice day.

[liveonearth.livejournal.com]

I'll put Bonnie's tomato bucket method in a new post. =-]

[neptunia67.livejournal.com]

I can't wait to start planting my herb garden. I had the herbs in large terra cotta bowls last summer, but the bowls crumbled over the winter. :-( I'm bummed!

This year, I think I am going to ask Paul to help me build a raised bed. Some herbs are perennial and will come back every year, and I can fill in the blank spots with the annuals each year.

I am seeing a new doc next week. Same old problems - GI, muscle cramping and TMJ.

[liveonearth.livejournal.com]

I have some GI info for ya. I'll send it attached to an email. Has anybody been doing Urinary Analysis on you? Get your new doc to do a UA. Are you getting copies of all your labs and saving them? It's a good idea.