JenneyMarie.net

Adventures in Traveling Occupatonal Therapy

Well it took a little detour, but we are finally back in Austin and together. WE have been apt hunting for the last few days. Found the perfect place, but true to form it fell through at the last minute. Now we are waiting for approval for apt number 2. Fingers crossed. All kinds of things have been going on with Jerad’s business which I cannot even begin to explain, but that keeps him pretty busy. I am simply relaxing and hoping to be need to unpack our overstuffed car again soon. I don’t start work until next week.

Oh and Freddie Forester is fixed! Looks good as new.

It’s hard to believe a month has already passed by, but tomorrow will be my last day of work here. I am happy to still be able to echo the sentiment “too bad this facility is in Modesto”, because it’s a really good place with really great people (though sadly still in the central valley). Our caseload has gone from crazy to fairly slow, but it’s picking up again. The OT who will be replacing me started today, and I must say I wish I got to be around her longer, because she clearly both loves what she does and is really good at it. Though today the COTA I work with told me what a breath of fresh air I was as a therapist and that I’m good at what I do, so yeah me!

It’s been a fairly difficult month being away from Jerad, but after our recent experience of 24 hours together and no outside interests, I think it was good for both of us to really realize how much we really appreciate having one another around. And we have both decided that just waiting till whenever to get married isn’t going to work so we are aiming for Sept. Last weekend I bought the dress and now I am working away at deciding between my top 2 cities and picking venues.

My 28th birthday came and went this month. For someone who relishes the day she were born as the 2nd greatest holiday of the year, it was a little sad to be away from everyone. Luckily my friend Alice met me halfway to San Francisco for dinner, and a thoughtful co-worker even bought me a cake.

I was able to take a weekend trip to San Francisco to visit some friends. I found myself wondering why I had ever left as I entered the city, and had to remind myself that there is a whole country waiting to be explored by me. I was also able to head up to Sacramento and down to San Jose to catch up with old friends. I’ve put some serious mileage on my brand new rental.

Sometime mid month I secured a travel job in Austin, so Saturday I fly back down to Texas to meet Jerad, where we will be until mid May. No pictures this time around, since there’s not so much to see here. But all in all a good month I’m happy to see ending.

Never again will I complain about not having enough work to do. This place is exhausting me. But it’s good. Their attitude about patient care is great. And the people are wonderful and supportive and good at what they do. To bad this is Modesto, cause I am enjoying this OT workout

Started my new assignment in glorious Modesto, Ca. Modesto is Modesto but at least the people at the site are really nice. There is even another traveler (speech) from San Antonio, Tx. The case load is really high (though 1 OT was out sick) so I saw a pretty intense number of patients (especially given I was being trained most of the morning). I think I’ll get more used to the fast pace, and the staff are all really supportive so that’s good. While they are all aware of the necessity of high numbers for reimbursement purposes, their focus is very much on the patient and what they really need – which I appreciate greatly, and do what is best for them.

I found a studio (guest house in a families backyard) not too far from work. I am very much missing Jerad, and I see that getting more difficult as time goes on, but absence makes the heart go stronger, right?

Christmas with Jerad’s family was nice. We did a lot of hanging around and keeping warm inside. It was relaxing just like a vacation should be, and had I not been out of work all month I imagine it would have been much more appreciated having time to relax. I was able to forget about all the job troubles for a bit, and that too, was nice. It was a very welcomed break to be in a house with a family, instead of on our own in a trailer.

We returned to Philadelphia, but decided instead of heading back to Texas and hoping to have work (and continuing to bleed money) I would take a short term job in California, and he would remain in PA to work on the business with his partner. It was an easy decision to come to, as it is the most practical and will be good for both of us (work wise), but as our days together grow shorter it is a decision I am regretting. We havent been apart for more then 2 weeks (and that was when we first met) and now the whole month. It will definetly be a test of my strength that’s for sure.

Last night we rang in the new year with Dave and his girlfriend and her brothers home. It was low key and friendly, and most importantly with Jerad, so … perfect.

For the first year ever I am not spending Christmas with my mother and brothers. Instead we decided to surprise Jerad’s mom and show up on Christmas Eve at her doorstep.  So after 10 glorious days living in the camper we left at 4:30am for the airport and PA. One of the most flawless trips either of us have ever experienced, the biggest issue we had was Jerad forgetting to put his pocket knife in storage and needing to get rid of it before we left.

We arrived that afternoon in PA, where Jerad’s friend Dave picked us up. Being that we were all quite tired we took it easy that afternoon and evening and hung around the house. The next day we jumped on public transit and headed into the city all afternoon.

Philadelphia, PA

First stopped by the Reading Terminal Market.

My friend had told me it was necessary to get Amish made pretzels here (which no one believed existed) but as it turns out this large, bustling market did have several Amish vendors, including the most delicious pretzels ever.  We continued down to south Philadelphia to Geno’s cheese steaks where we stuffed our faces, passing through little Italy on the way.  I decided I would be quite happy living in that area.

Little Italy Philadelphia, PA

We made the requisite trip to Washington Square and the Liberty Bell, then back up to Reading Terminal Market and to Dave’s place.

Washington Square

The Liberty Bell

That evening we met up with Dave’s girlfriend and a few others for dinner and bowling. It seems we ate our way through Philadelphia, and my stomach felt like that too! Jerad’s brother came that afternoon and he drove us up to their mom’s place the next afternoon.

Needless to say she was very excited and very surprised to see us. And while it made me very happy for my part in bringing them together, I couldn’t help but feel a little jealous that I couldn’t give my own mom the same gift. I made the traditional Christmas Potica, and true to tradition it came out strange.

But it was nice to be able to have that piece of my own Christmas tradition. Jerad and I headed to a local church for Christmas mass, and they had the most beautiful choir (complete brass and drum instrumentalists that sounded like a full symphony).

This morning I experienced the Bitner traditional Christmas breakfast of scrapple, which I fear is a flavor I will probably never grow to love. Like any child on Christmas morning, Jerad has been glued to the video game his brother gave him all morning.

There is no new news on my TX license or a job. Various positions keep popping up (including one in Escondido) but as soon as I give the go ahead to send my info, someone else always seems to snatch it up. Just as well, seeing as that job would have meant 6 weeks away from Jerad and while I probably could do it, I had no interest in having to. I even contacted my old job in an effort to see if they needed some short term help, but they only want full contracts. So I continue to wait and hope that next week something miraculously pops up. My car is still in the shop, and will be substantially longer then I was hoping it would be., but hopefully it will all come together.

Merry Christmas!

Nothing has really changed here in Austin. Since we are so far from the city center, and have limited use of the car due to the lack of headlight and it full of all our stuff, we have pretty much been hanging around the house. It’s also been a little difficult to muster up the desire to explore, given our current situation. Today I finally was able to drop off my car to be fixed. God willing it will be done by the end of the year, but I doubt it. Because the place was so far away I had my first experience with the Austin public transit system, which isn’t too bad. Also since I was already out and about I did a little walking around the congress district and south 1st.  It was good to see a little of the city since this little experience feels like the most expensive and useless “vacation” ever.

Texas State Capitol

Congress Ave; Austin, Tx

Still no change with my Tx license. All of the paper work that needs to be sent to Tx by different people is still missing. I’ve done my part, but everything else is lost in limbo. Lets hope things change tomorrow.

So we are now in Austin, TX. I wish I had some pictures to post and fun adventures to tell of but in an effort to save money we are staying in a camper pretty far south of town. Since we are missing a headlight we can’t drive at night, and the weather has been crummy and raining, which limits daytime driving too.

I had an interview for a position in TX that went really well, but then they decided they can’t take another therapist until February. So that leaves me jobless for another month and a half. There was a San Antonio position that could fill that time perfectly, but silly me wanting to consider the options lost it to someone else who didn’t need those 2 hours to think. So we are back to having nothing until February, though that hospital hasn’t signed the contract so who knows if that will actually pan out.

Took the car in to be appraised after hassling my insurance to allow someone else to help me since my guy can’t seem to return my calls. $4000 worth of repairs on a car that cost $9000 seems a little insane, especially since its all body damage, but as long as I only have to pay the deductible I don’t really care. Now its back to that same song and dance with my adjuster who likes to ignore me, as i would really like to get the car in to be fixed as soon as possible.

Life is pretty boring right now. Mostly sitting around mourning what a sad Christmas season this has been and wishing we could go back in time and re-do some of the mistakes that led us to this dingy camper. Oh well, its a sucky situation but I’m in it with the best person possible so that I can deal with.

Durango, CO: Snow sucks when it makes you cold, and wet, and stranded and your car broken. However at the end of the day, snow is pretty awesome. Especially snow that is really deep.

While it made Jerad a little grumbly, I greatly enjoyed tromping through the snow like a 3 year old (i apparently don’t have snow legs) and throwing snow balls at Jerad’s back (though the testier he got I just started throwing them around him). The other people in the hotel found it quite hilarious me crouched in the parking lot building a snowman (snow lesson: dry snow doesn’t pack well and makes a crummy snowman).

I tried to make a snow angel but the snow was so deep I couldn’t move my legs.

Durango was a really cute town with a free trolley to take you to/from downtown (though it was closed because of the snow most of the time) and some really delicious hot wings. We spent a day in Durango, but due to some serious snow our exploring was kept to a minimum.

Santa Fe, NM: After a day we were able to head out of Durango and on to New Mexico. We hadn’t driven very far at all when we noticed we had left the worst of the snow behind. We headed down into New Mexico, and Santa Fe where since seeing a friends beautiful home in a photo, I have always wanted to visit. We decided after the week we were having we would try out a bed and breakfast. It was a beautiful adobe place with a fireplace in our room and really sweet inn keepers. They were very few other guests.

We set out into town and found Jerad a coffee shop to work, and I set out on the main square to explore and window shop. I can see this town being a tourist haven during the warmer months, but I enjoyed it quite a lot.

Ft Sumner, NM: A middle of nowhere town, that looks all but abandoned. Except for the grave site of Billy the Kid. Seems like we’re on a tour of grave sites of old west outlaws.

Post, TX: Leaving Santa Fe we headed towards Texas. I desperately wanted a picture of the welcome to Texas sign, but saw it too late. Jerad found it quite humorous to watch me drive and struggle with the camera which is why this is what I got.

I must say, the drive through Texas was definitely the least scenic. A lot of cotton fields only to be outnumbered by windmills.

We arrived that evening in the bustling (and when I say bustling I mean nearly deserted) town of Post, named for the Post cereal mogul. We stayed in another B&B in an old historic hotel in the city center. Jerad settled into a beautiful study to work and I set out to explore the town. I was back in half an hour. Luckily the building we were staying in had a lot of history so I explored it instead.

Finally Austin, TX: We left Post as soon as the sun came up for the final leg of our TREK to Austin, arriving shortly after midday. We found a hotel walking distance to downtown, rested up a bit and headed into the city.

We walked around the warehouse district a bit, and eventually found a fabulous BBQ joint. Talk about Jerad’s idea of heaven. The following day we explored some of the 6th St entertainment district, though we did it in the am when all of the bars and clubs were closed. It has potential. That afternoon I took to SOCO on my own and found the Austin I was told I would love. It had a very San Francisco/Portland vibe. I’ve never seen so many restaurants run out of camper/trailers. Awesome! Cute shops, eateries, coffee shops, local vendors. Jerad agreed when he joined me later, that  this was an Austin that agreed with us much more.

This morning we found a vegetarian cafe/coffee shop that reeked of hipsters and hippies. It was like being back in SF. We also finally found a place to stay for the time being, a camper. It is not a trailer. I have been repeatedly informed that it is not a trailer, so don’t call it that.

Just another step in this never ending adventure. I could do with a little less adventure, but at the end of the day we are still laughing so we’ll just stick with that as we continue to explore Austin.

This morning Jerad and I left for my next assignment in Austin, TX. Forecast called for snow (of course its been perfect for a month but the day we leave – snow) so we set out as soon as we could to try to avoid it. Fat chance. The minute we were out of Grand Junction it was snowing, but light enough that I was still trusted to drive so no big deal. Our plan was to head down to Santa Fe, NM (of which I have heard great things) to stay the night.  We made it to Ouray, Co, about 2 hours from home, and considered staying until the snow cleared, but it had let up at this point so we ventured on. We chose south assuming there would be less mountains then heading over the Rockies into Denver. WRONG. The moment we started our ascent we were climbing into (snowy) mountains with very shear cliffs and no guard rails. It was really beautiful, but fairly nerve wracking.

This was clear crystal blue

notice the cliff edge to the left

see the road? yeah, we had that problem too

We climbed for what seemed forever; a 30 minute drive was taking 2 hours we had to travel so slow. The new car was doing great, and we had made it almost to Durango, where we would switch to another highway (or stop until the snow let up) when the car slid and hit a guard rail. The left headlight and fender are demolished, and the taillight and rear fender aren’t doing so good. Along with some minor side body damage. Jerads bike wheel was crushed, and it remains to be seen if mine sustained any damage.

We made it the rest of the way to Durango where we are currently waiting out the snow. I recieved a call early this evening that my contracting facility backed out so now we are on the road to Austin, where no job exisists for me anymore. That puts us in a bad spot because we had everything set up and were really counting on this.  Im hoping something else will come through, but in the meantime am focusing on fixing the car and getting through the snow.

We walked into downtown Durango (in the snow) for dinner. It really is a great little town so if we have to be stranded why not here. Plus there is a hot springs near by so maybe we’ll get to head out that way tomorrow.

Today’s lessons learned: 1) Anytime Jerad and I want to move, its going to snow. August in Hawaii and it will snow. 2) Jerad’s bike is really accident prone when on the rear of my car