Amazed

Today the weirdest (but pleasant) thing happened. A girl in Q3, her name is Hali, and she started with our class, but in Q1 her and her husband got pregnant with their 2nd child, so she took our Q2 off so that she could have the baby and be at home with her for a little while. Then she came back with the class that started 6 months later.

So today, she came up to me and handed me a note and stood there, waiting for me to read it. And I am always one to think the worst, wondering if I might have offended her (but really not sure how I would have done that....), but as I read the note, my eyes instantly filled with tears and I just felt so special. It was a belated Happy Birthday note, just telling me that she appreciates me, and my sense of humour, my calm demeanor, etc. It was absolutely unexpected and just touched my heart. I don't even feel like I know her that well....our class had a baby shower for her, and of course we all see her around the hallways and the lunch room. But it just really made me feel good :)

It reminded me of that movie Pay It Forward (I dont remember a whole lot of it, just kinda the premise of it). It was this kid, who thought he could change the world by instead of paying people back, paying people forward. So instead of returning a nice favor, passing a nice favor onto someone else. Makes me feel like I should do something nice for someone else.

Summer is here?

It is currently +23C headed for a high of +26C! Wow, I think maybe *crosses fingers* summer might be here. Well definitely spring anyways. I like this time of year, for the most part. I don't like the dead trees and brown grass, and dust and dirt, but the longer days and nicer weather are sure a lot better for a person's morale than winter :P

As I sit here waiting for the 1st coat of nailpolish on my toes to dry (a colour called Typhoon, it's kinda blue, but it shines a purply colour), I am getting excited about what this summer is going to bring. I just look forward to having a job, and NOT having to do homework. Being able to spend my non-working time just relaxing with my friends and family, and not worrying about this exam, or that assignment.

I look forward to doing a lot of summery things this summer. Jay and I were planning to do some touristy Saskatoon things, maybe hit up some museums, the zoo and whatever else our little hearts desire. I hope to have some slurpees (I haven't had one in ages!), spend some good quality time in the patio swing soakin up some rays and I would like to get to the lake (and it doesnt really matter which one....) sometime this summer, all depending on the work situation. I am a little bit scared about being dumped out on my butt in the real world, but the excitment of having a career and not just a summer job outweighs the scariness for me!

I was remembering this time last year when I was planning to move out of my parents house. It would have been good for me I'm sure, however, I would now be in a position that a couple of people in my class are in. Get a job by July 1st or end up moving back to mom and dad's house. I think that this has all worked out for the best in the long run. I still look forward to being able to move out and be independant, but I know that for now, saving money and trying to get myself a car is what I need to do.

I sure do suck at painting my toenails...I got just about as much polish on my toes as I do on my nails. But it usually comes off with the first shower, so it should be alright. I think today I might go and look at some new sandals. I have had my Reebok sport sandals since high school (over 6 years ago!) and they are not in bad shape, except for the complete lack of tread left on the bottom, as well as the smell that they give my feet every time I wear them. I spent $60 on them back in the day, so hopefully I can find something along that line, around that price that will last me a LONG time again!

I think it's time to go and do a 2nd coat on my toes! Byebye for now!

I am the queen of the world!!!

Hehe, okay so I just passed my Q4 comp oral/practical! You just get a pass/fail, so I passed and they said I did well. They said I was very concise and to the point (done in 13 minutes, out of a possible 30 minutes), so it's all good. I just need to review some of my muscles, but I knew that before I went in ;) Thanks for your thots and prayers!

new colours!

You know when you get to that point where you just don't wanna study anymore?? Yeah, I am SO there! That would be why the colours on my page have miraculously changed. Ha! Much more important than my Q4 comprehensive exam!

pray for me?

I have my comprehensive practical exam tomorrow. I have been studying for it off and on for the last week or so, and am feeling fairly confident in my knowledge but I could use some prayers. My exam is at 1:30-2:00pm tomorrow afternoon. This exam is styled after our board exams that are coming up on June 3-5, so it should help us to have an idea of what we are walking into in June. Thanks and I will keep you posted about how I do on it

I have sand in my teeth!

It is so unbelievably windy out there! And with all the sand that hasn't been swept up by the street cleaners yet....a lot of it ended up in my sandals (because the radio said it was going to +22C today) and in my teeth! I hate that feeling, *crunch crunch* of sand in your teeth :þ

My life seems so hectic right now, I haven't seen many of my friends in the last month, and probably won't much in the next month! But I keep track of most of you through reading blogs, and the occasional meeting on MSN. It feels like a long time until I am done school, but at the same time, it feels like no time at all. I gave my notice at work yesterday, for May 20th (so I can have the long weekend off! yayyayayaya!), and it was just about the best feeling of my life. I think that leaving that parkade, as an employee for the very last time will feel even better :) I just know the next month is going to come and go in no time, and I have so much studying to do, assignments to write, and at the same time try to keep up on my love life ;) and I would like at some point in time to see my friends!!

What else is new....uh, our clothes came in today at school (okay Jay, I ruined the surprise for you ;) ). They look fairly good, but I am really glad I didn't order a tanktop. The guy who put the logo on them for some reason decided that it would look good, instead of putting the logo we designed (it says massage therapy, with the m in a circle, cause an m in a circle is the shorthand way of writing massage), he just put a big ole M in a circle in the middle of the chest. These are tight fitting ribbed tanktops....with a 3 or so inch wide M in the middle of the chest. We came to the conclusion it looks a little like a superhero shirt....'Massage Woman' we decided. She changes the world subtly through effleurage and petrissage....haha, okay we had a good laugh about that, but again, I am glad I did not order a tank top. My shorts that I ordered have the same big ole M in a circle on them, but at least they are shorts, and people won't be like, "wow, you have a big M on your chest!". Yeah, my other clothes look great, and I am sure you will all see me wearing them in the next months, cause I got 3 shirts, and shorts.

There is a lot of short tempers in my house right now. With me in the middle of stress time at school, and mom and dad quitting smoking, there is a lot of snipping at eachother going on. Dad get's REALLY frustrated really easily and swears a lot....but at this point in time, I would rather put up with that than walking into a hazy, stinky house! They seem pretty set on quitting this time, so I hope it works out for them. I am always skeptical because they have quit and restarted so many times!!! Hopefully dad will be motivated to do more stuff around the house and yard because it takes the mind off of wanting a smoke.

I think that's all that's new with me, I haven't had many profound blog entries for the last while, but I will do my best to be inspired :þ

Professionalism?

At school, from day one we have taken classes in professional development. We learn what it means to be professional as a therapist. Things like how to deal with difficult clients, what is expected of therapists in the code of ethics and that sort of thing. There are two massage schools in Saskatoon for those of you who don't know, McKay, where I go, and the Professional Institute of Massage Therapy(PIMT). When I was looking into schools to go to, everyone I talked to unanimously told me that McKay was the place to go. Sure their building doesn't look as pretty from the outside and maybe it's not as new, but I heard the instructors and the program itself was second to none! So when it was time to choose between schools, I chose McKay, and have never looked back. At our school we don't make a habit out of putting down the other school, if we hear something about them, we might talk about it, but we realize that anyone who is going there probably weighed the pros and cons of each school and chose that one. I do have a point to my ramblings here...

Yesterday, two girls from PIMT booked into our clinic at school and came in and were treated. They told their therapists that they were university of saskatchewan students who were interested in perhaps pursuing massage therapy in the future. Basically they complained throughout the whole treatment, and at the end they gave the therapists scathing evaluations on the evaluation sheets. Everything was 'unsatisfactory'. I have been to one of those poor therapists and she is really good. This is unacceptable behavior in my mind. What in the world would possess them to do that?!?! Obviously they had planned to do this, because they both had stories laid out about who they were. But one of them slipped up and it came out that she was a student at PIMT, and we assume the other one was as well, because she had the same story about being a U of S student and used terminology on her evaluation sheet that the average person would not know.

I just wonder who put those ideas into their head? Someone said they overheard them talking that it was an 'assignment' for one of their classes. If that's true, wow. It just really really ticks me off that they think they can do that. I can honestly say I have thought about going over to their school for a treatment, just to check them out, but I would NEVER do anything so immature and unprofessional. So this morning, our program director called over to PIMT and tore a strip off of the program director over there. I hope that those students are disciplined severely.

That's my rant for the day ;) Other than that, not a whole lot new with me....in the last week, 2 girls at school have gotten engaged! Both have been dating their boyfriends for 4-5 years, so I guess it's about time ;) I am so happy spring is here!! Yay for spring! I need to paint my toenails and start wearing sandals!!

More procrastination for Angie

I am sitting here dreading starting to study for my massage final tomorrow. It will be the last massage final I ever write. I still have comprehensive exams in May and board exams in June, but tomorrow will be my very last written massage final! Wow eh?? It feels like only yesterday that I started school with 22 other people who were just as shy and intimidated as me, and now we are all massage therapists. My sister had her RMT come over to her house the other day to give her a treatment, and she said that I am just as good, if not better than her in some areas. She still has some more strength than me, but I know that'll come with time and practice! It's good to hear tho! I am just about done school, soon to be a Registered Massage Therapist! Wow! I will have a title, Angie Boschman RMT ;) Not that it really matters if I can't find a job, but we'll be positive and hope that I do find one ;)

I am counting down the days (39 as of today) until I quit at Impark. I just can't wait to see the look on Dale's face when I give my two weeks notice, then when I am able to hand in my keys and nametag....*sigh* Yesterday I was not having a very good day, feeling emotional, like one of those days when you are on the verge of tears and it just doesn't take much to push you over the edge, but there is really no good reason for you to feel like that. Well I was feeling that way, and was driving to work (half way down 22nd st), and remembered that I had forgotten my massage text book at home, so I quickly turned around and came home, and cried on the way back home, and cried on the way back to work. I was only about 5 minutes late, no biggie. Then this woman came to the booth, and handed me her ticket and two of our 2hr validation coupons. Well the rules of the 2hr validation coupons state that you can only use one per visit. So she had been parked for 4 hours, and could only use one coupon, so she owed me $4. She thought that I was full of it, and told me as much. She said that they have always accepted more than one, and I said 'no, I have worked every Saturday and Thursday for the last 2 years (the only time we accept those coupons) and I have NEVER accepted more than one' She said she still didn't believe me. I said to her "I am not trying to rip you off, I just work here, these are the rules I have been given, and I follow them, or else I get in trouble." She said, I still don't believe you. I said to her "What in the world would be in it for me, if I actually was ripping you off??" She said, I don't know, but I still don't believe you. Finally she paid her $4 with a 'hmmph, I'll never be back', and I let her go. I sat there and my hands were shaking, I was mad, but being on the verge of tears....Yeah, well, I sat there in the booth and had a good cry for, oooh, about 20 minutes. Some customers came and went in that time, and they just pretended not to notice my puffy red eyes and red nose. But after I got it out of my system, I felt a lot better! For the rest of the day, I felt pretty normal. Then I got to go home and then I went and spent the evening with Jay. It was a good ending to a mediocre day :)

A little patience

Easter weekend has come and gone again. This year seemed particularly important and I did a lot of reflecting on the death and resurrection of Jesus. More specifically the suffering that he endured leading up to and including the cross. After hearing that story over and over again in the last few years of my life, after seeing The Passion, I was awed to see how very much Jesus really endured. Wow. And in recieving communion during the Good Friday service, I don't know if it has ever affected me as deeply as it did this year.

On a different note, I got to see my little nephew again yesterday. He is looking so good :) Such a little sweetheart! And Jay came for family dinner last night, so he got to meet a bit of my extended family. It was really cool :) As we grow closer and closer together, I am looking for patience. Today as I was leaving Jay's house after lunch, I was saying in a whiney voice....'i want patience nooooow!' I have been praying for patience, and I think this is one of those things that God is trying to teach me patience through. I feel like saying to God "okay either give me what I want now or give me patience!" I don't seem to be getting either ;) *Sigh* Oh well, no hurry right?? :)

The Light at the end of the tunnel!

Just a quick note to let y'all know that I told my dad about my plans to quit Impark, and he was pretty okay with it. Not like my overactive imagination was picturing. I have had so much support and peace about this decision, that I know this is what is supposed to happen. Around the middle of May I am going to give my 2 weeks notice, then I will be done on May 27th :) I can finally see the light at the end of this very dark tunnel!!!!

Getting on with life...

I made a decision today. I am still in the process of praying about it, ensuring that it is the right thing to do, but the more I think about it, the happier I feel and the more it makes sense to me. As most of you reading this probably know, I have been working for Imperial Parking for the last two and a half years. In this time, my life has changed a lot. I started during the year I took off of school to figure my life out, and now, as I draw near to the end of my 2 year massage program, I am feeling really ready to quit. Today during our professional development class, it just came to me. "Angie, take a leap of faith and quit your job at the end of May." That would give me just about another 2 months of working there, but would bring me up to just about the end of my program. It would give me time to focus on preparation for my board exam, time to relax and a week or so of free time after I am done, to RELAX, go to Swift Current with Jay, not worry about responsibilities and start looking for a massage related job. I know that I may not find a massage job right off the bat, but like I said, I think it is a leap of faith to save my sanity and bring a little joy into my life. This is my grad gift to myself :) If worse came to worse and I was running out of money (I have a little saved up), I could go out and get a non-massage job somewhere until I find something massage related. But I feel a strong sense of calm and peace about this decision. The only thing that scares me is telling my dad about this. I realize I am 23 years old, and it is my life, but I do have to live with him, and I don't want to hear "I told you so" if I can't find a job right away. I am sure I will find SOMETHING....So if you would pray for me, and let me know if you think I am completely retarded, I would appreciate it. :)

Ode to Saturdays

Okay, well maybe this isn't a poem, but I sure do like when I have a Saturday off. I requested today off 3 months ago thinking that I had sport's taping (ie learning how to tape up sports injuries) today, but we found out yesterday (thank goodness) that it is not until tomorrow. I am kinda disappointed that I have to miss church, but glad to have a Saturday off, and I am also thankful that we found out about the schedule change before this morning, or there would have been 15 unhappy campers sitting outside of our school this morning at 9am wondering why there is no one there to let us in!

It has been an emotional week. With the birth of my nephew *sigh* and the DREADED memo at work on Thursday, I have gotten a lot of good crying time in. I am feeling good as this week comes to a close, mainly because I do not have work today.

Little James' face is no longer black 'n blue (cept for a little on his eyes and cheek), but now he is jaundiced. It is a pretty common occurence in newborns, but it is interesting looking. I have never seen a yellow baby before ;) And the little sweetheart, once my sister got him to feed and sleep last nite, as he laid there under the lights in the incubator, completely naked, he just sprawled his limbs out like he was REALLY enjoying being in there ;) What an amazing little person he is :)

Oooh one more story about him. When mom, dad and I got there last nite, the nurse was in the room, and they had him on his tummy in the incubator, and without a word of a lie, he was trying to crawl. His little arms and legs were just a going, but he just didnt quite have the strength to support himself. He was also managing to pick his head up a little bit!! After only 3 days on this earth! Wow! I think for his first bday I'll get him some free weights ;)