Life lately
Life is going swimmingly and this most recent time petsitting is the least stressful time its been in years. I have to say that this anniversary (a week ago) and this Valentine's day, have been special in that we haven't done anything special, but I don't really feel the need. We have been loving and appreciative of each other every day. I am supremely happy and grateful.
We have been commuting between our house and the petsitting house twice a day for the last two weeks. It's about 30 minutes each way at least, and it means getting up at 6am. Ugh, but not terrible. We get to stop at Satellite for coffee (early grey tea for me) and listen to NPR. It's been harder than usual. The vet recently saved our white cat from a serious bladder infection and an acute kidney infection and reminded us how important it is for his hyperthyroidism to be controlled, which means a thyroid pill twice a day, which is why we've been getting up so early. It's also why we've been commuting more often because usually one of us leaves the car at the house. Getting up early has been pretty (pink volcanoes) and has given me time to meditate before going to practicum. Well, I've done that once and then did it another day once before school.
I've noticed that my mood is pretty good lately, despite being exhausted and I think its because I've been reading about Buddhism and trying to practice the teachings more often. Before bed I've been reading Thich Nhat Hanh's "The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching". I've read about buddhist thought and meditation and so forth many times over the years, but never manage to finish whatever I've started. I'm making decent progress and I'm determined to finish it. I think it's been easy to read before bed because we don't have comfortable access to the internet there, and that's what I'm usually still doing while Gen prepares for bed. I've been more motivated to do this and to actually meditate because I'm really interested in the use of Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy as a technique for prevention of addiction and relapse after recovery. I'd really like to start a group at my practicum site, but I don't feel qualified to do so. Maybe in a few years though. :)
My law and ethics class has been awesome. I'm doing another paper on drug courts, focusing on the specifics of local drug courts and how they work with clients and the ethics of a constitutional issue related to punishments for relapse that involve spending time in jail. I love my teacher she's a social worker who also has a law degree, and I strongly suspect she is a lesbian because she brings up glbt rights and freedoms whenever its relevant, though another example might be used. Social workers are pretty aware, but to illustrate the powers the constitution gives the states to make laws, she said something like "So, if I get married in Washington, it doesn't mean that I can get married in New Mexico or that New Mexico has to recognize it.". And also mentioned how the Veteran's Administration, since it's run by the government, can't extend benefits to the other person in a same sex couple. She happens to be the Veteran's Justice Coordinator, and grimaced pretty angrily when she was talking about it. She's even more awesome because she has this peculiar accent that is both New York City and Boston. She says it's because her mother was Italian and her father British. Yay! My first actual lesbian professor. Until she says otherwise, anyway.
We have been commuting between our house and the petsitting house twice a day for the last two weeks. It's about 30 minutes each way at least, and it means getting up at 6am. Ugh, but not terrible. We get to stop at Satellite for coffee (early grey tea for me) and listen to NPR. It's been harder than usual. The vet recently saved our white cat from a serious bladder infection and an acute kidney infection and reminded us how important it is for his hyperthyroidism to be controlled, which means a thyroid pill twice a day, which is why we've been getting up so early. It's also why we've been commuting more often because usually one of us leaves the car at the house. Getting up early has been pretty (pink volcanoes) and has given me time to meditate before going to practicum. Well, I've done that once and then did it another day once before school.
I've noticed that my mood is pretty good lately, despite being exhausted and I think its because I've been reading about Buddhism and trying to practice the teachings more often. Before bed I've been reading Thich Nhat Hanh's "The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching". I've read about buddhist thought and meditation and so forth many times over the years, but never manage to finish whatever I've started. I'm making decent progress and I'm determined to finish it. I think it's been easy to read before bed because we don't have comfortable access to the internet there, and that's what I'm usually still doing while Gen prepares for bed. I've been more motivated to do this and to actually meditate because I'm really interested in the use of Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy as a technique for prevention of addiction and relapse after recovery. I'd really like to start a group at my practicum site, but I don't feel qualified to do so. Maybe in a few years though. :)
My law and ethics class has been awesome. I'm doing another paper on drug courts, focusing on the specifics of local drug courts and how they work with clients and the ethics of a constitutional issue related to punishments for relapse that involve spending time in jail. I love my teacher she's a social worker who also has a law degree, and I strongly suspect she is a lesbian because she brings up glbt rights and freedoms whenever its relevant, though another example might be used. Social workers are pretty aware, but to illustrate the powers the constitution gives the states to make laws, she said something like "So, if I get married in Washington, it doesn't mean that I can get married in New Mexico or that New Mexico has to recognize it.". And also mentioned how the Veteran's Administration, since it's run by the government, can't extend benefits to the other person in a same sex couple. She happens to be the Veteran's Justice Coordinator, and grimaced pretty angrily when she was talking about it. She's even more awesome because she has this peculiar accent that is both New York City and Boston. She says it's because her mother was Italian and her father British. Yay! My first actual lesbian professor. Until she says otherwise, anyway.