A Comeback Worthy of Britney Spears
I've missed writing.
This does not mean that I equate the writing involved in picking up my old LiveJournal with real writing that takes planning, complete thoughts, editing, and, really, a point. This will probably not have any of those four, but it's a way to flex the muscles, really, and probably helpful to someone who has done terribly little writing since the end of the school year. I wanted to start a new, fresh blog on some hip site like tumblr or wordpress, but the thought of having no readers (vain, I know) and worse, the thought of having to come up with a clever and ingenious yet informative title pushed me to take the easy road. In any case, I'll try this again for a while. LiveJournal, while unfortunately synonymous with some very embarrassing entries of the junior high era, still has a curiously strong grip on my heartstrings. Aw.
So, to breeze past the boring stuff: Since I've last written in this, I finished my first year at Stanford and, after two weeks of utter idleness, started full-time work at Lytton Gardens, a non-profit low-income nursing home in downtown Palo Alto. To fend off some FAQs: no, I'm not considering medicine/nursing/psychology/geriatric care as a career path -- I'm working there through a program at school that pays for my salary if I find work at a non-profit; essentially, I work, I get paid (excellent), Lytton doesn't have to pay me, and I get to take back money from the blood-sucking institution (brilliant).
I've been working with the volunteer department, which coordinates individual and group volunteers who want to come in and help run activities, but that still includes lots of interaction with the residents, who comprise a very strange yet intriguing group of people of varying degrees of alertness and orientation. Most are between 65 and 95, with different physical and mental limitations, and life stories both understated and highly intriguing. Some have family; some were once homeless. It's a completely different kind of life, and I've had my mind boggled in some way, large or small, almost every day. And you thought old people were dull, huh.
This has mostly just been to say hello. I still have a few weeks of work, and then I move in to the dorms and prepare for a grueling quarter. Exciting as always.
P.S. Just had to say that people are already throwing around the acronym VPILF regarding Sarah Palin. Yechhhk. CNN plays incessantly on the TV in the lobby, and all I've heard today has been "Sarah Palin women voters Gustav Palin Gustav Palin Palin Palin Alaska fresh face inexperienced bold move Palin Palin." Seriously, CNN, we get it. You can calm down now.
This does not mean that I equate the writing involved in picking up my old LiveJournal with real writing that takes planning, complete thoughts, editing, and, really, a point. This will probably not have any of those four, but it's a way to flex the muscles, really, and probably helpful to someone who has done terribly little writing since the end of the school year. I wanted to start a new, fresh blog on some hip site like tumblr or wordpress, but the thought of having no readers (vain, I know) and worse, the thought of having to come up with a clever and ingenious yet informative title pushed me to take the easy road. In any case, I'll try this again for a while. LiveJournal, while unfortunately synonymous with some very embarrassing entries of the junior high era, still has a curiously strong grip on my heartstrings. Aw.
So, to breeze past the boring stuff: Since I've last written in this, I finished my first year at Stanford and, after two weeks of utter idleness, started full-time work at Lytton Gardens, a non-profit low-income nursing home in downtown Palo Alto. To fend off some FAQs: no, I'm not considering medicine/nursing/psychology/geriatric care as a career path -- I'm working there through a program at school that pays for my salary if I find work at a non-profit; essentially, I work, I get paid (excellent), Lytton doesn't have to pay me, and I get to take back money from the blood-sucking institution (brilliant).
I've been working with the volunteer department, which coordinates individual and group volunteers who want to come in and help run activities, but that still includes lots of interaction with the residents, who comprise a very strange yet intriguing group of people of varying degrees of alertness and orientation. Most are between 65 and 95, with different physical and mental limitations, and life stories both understated and highly intriguing. Some have family; some were once homeless. It's a completely different kind of life, and I've had my mind boggled in some way, large or small, almost every day. And you thought old people were dull, huh.
This has mostly just been to say hello. I still have a few weeks of work, and then I move in to the dorms and prepare for a grueling quarter. Exciting as always.
P.S. Just had to say that people are already throwing around the acronym VPILF regarding Sarah Palin. Yechhhk. CNN plays incessantly on the TV in the lobby, and all I've heard today has been "Sarah Palin women voters Gustav Palin Gustav Palin Palin Palin Alaska fresh face inexperienced bold move Palin Palin." Seriously, CNN, we get it. You can calm down now.