Learning to Love the Only Me that I Will Ever Be: April 2009

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Been busy!

I apologize for not updating in a while but it is the end of the semester and school has hit HARD! i've had so many paper's due it's not even funny. I'm down to the last 2, which are due next week, yes!!! I have 2 weeks off and then the summer semester begins...ugh! This school thing is seriously never-ending. I still haven't found another consultant that can accommodate me for evening or weekend hours...anyone in the Philadelphia or South Jersey area have any suggestions?

I also started a new job and moved to a new place all in the same week! The new job is going very well...I am enjoying getting to work closely with my clients and see them on a regular basis. In case you're wondering, I am now a methadone maintenance counselor. Methadone is an opiate blocker--it helps people who are addicted to heroin begin to ween themselves off of the heroin so that they can get their lives back in order. I do individual and group sessions, which I love! My clients are really great people who got sidetracked a bit and are ready to begin to get back on the right track.

The apartment is also good...it's got some really annoying quirks but everything is a work in progress. Our door is a mission and a half to open because the carpet padding makes the carpet near the door too high so you have to push like you're giving birth to get the damn thing open. Some of the windows also don't have screens but I think that was done purposely because it will force us to use our air conditioner, instead of the windows and cause our electric bill to sky rocket. My boyfriend thought it would be harmless to open a window anyway and now we have gnats that hang around the light in the living room that i have been killing for a couple days now.

What else? Oh! I'm getting a kitten!! I'm adopting a kitten from a girl who has been fostering them for the SPCA. I am going to meet them tomorrow and pick one out! I'm so excited...I've never had a pet that didn't have to live in a cage before haha. This is like my dream come true because I wasn't allowed to have a cat or dog as a kid because my mother doesn't really like animals. Go figure though because now she wants a dog to keep her company. She would prefer a man but I'm thinking she will settle for a pup lol!

That's all from me...pictures of some sort soon to come!

Thursday, April 9, 2009

No one will stop me...

From being able to become a runner like I want to. After I got out of class today I saw the La Salle was having a track meet and I noticed that a friend of mine was watching the meet so I walked down to join her. There wasn't much left but I got really into the 4x4 relay! I was absolutely amazed by their physique and the way that effected how fast or slow or hard they were running. I could see each muscle working hard to propel the runner forward past the person in front of them. I even admired the people who were in the back and struggling because despite the fact that they weren't winning they were still pushing to the finish line. THAT WILL BE ME!

I haven't been running my whole life so, no, I won't be Marian Jones (in more ways than one lol) but I want to be the strongest version of me that I can be. I want to run without pain, I want to run without feeling like I'm taking my last breath with every step, I want to run and be proud of myself. Having said that, I am in the process of healing my body (shin splints) so that I can begin training to run the LiveStrong 5K in August. My time last year was 45 minutes. I would like to cut that down to 35 minutes, which if I stay consistent is totally possible. I'll keep you posted on my progress...I'm not going to start running again until next month so you'll have to wait until then to hear about my progress!

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

So let me tell you...

So as you know I had a retightening yesterday. I live in Philadelphia and my consultant was originally in Southwest Philly but she moved about 2 weeks ago to Cherry Hill. Thankfully, I got my little card in the mail with the new address and proceeded to Google the directions. Of course, I GOT LOST! It was 100% my fault (who would have thought the directions would actually be right this time) because I got off at the wrong exit. I was only a half hour late to my appointment though.

I finally arrived and knocked on what I assumed to be the salon door and a woman opened it (she did not have sisterlocks) and I asked for my consultant. She said yes and waved me in. The first thing I noticed was that the shop was HUGE! It had a nice receptionist desk, a couch in the waiting area, an area for washing hair, 2 hair dryers, and a HUGE area with several hair dresser chairs and mirrors.

The second thing I noticed was that I did not see my consultant. Instead a woman with beautiful sisterlocks was sitting behind the desk while the woman who opened the door was taking my coat. The woman behind the desk was on the phone so the other woman decided to help me. The woman who took my coat was an African woman in her late 30's or early 40's and I remembered her from a previous retightening when my consultant had her (with my permission) inspect my hair and tell her what the curl pattern, density, and SL pattern of my hair was...she was a trainee! The woman at the desk was a trainee as well. I asked for my consultant again and they said that she wasn't there and wouldn't be in until later. My first reaction, in my head, was "What?!?" Why hadn't anyone called to tell me that my consultant wouldn't be there and that the trainees would be retightening my hair instead?

I'd like to make it clear that I had no problem with the trainees doing my hair but a heads up would have been nice. My consultant is a master consultant and I trusted that she had trained them well but again, would have been nice to know. Anyway...both of them took to working on my head which I thought would make things go much faster and I would be out of there in no time. WRONG! I was in the chair for 3 and a half excruciating hours. Why excruciating?? Oh because it was the worst pain I had ever experienced during a retightening. It always kind of pinches but this time the pain was intense and then was amplified by 2. Ugh I practically ran to my car after it was over.

It wasn't a horrible experience at all but it wasn't the usual enjoyable one that I have when I go to get my locks retightened. I may actually have to look for a new consultant however because I am starting a new job that doesnt have the flexibility of my old job and my consultant currently doesn't have weekend hours and they generally close at 5, which is the earliest I would be able to get there. Looks like I need to head to the sisterlocks website again...