August Challenge

My friend, Kate, blogs quite often.  She linked me to this challenge and it's a perfect start to this blogging thing that I'm trying to do.  So for August 1, the challenge asks "Who are you" and to introduce myself.

Who am I?  Let's start with the basics.  My name is Megan, but most people call me Megg.  The two g's came from High School.  You see, back in the 80s, when I was born, Megan was a very popular name.  I figured this out early in life when I was NEVER the only Megan in a group or class or whatever.  It started to get a bit confusing to decipher my stuff from the other Megan's.  Therefore, one of my best friends at the time suggest for me to put an additional G at the end of my name to distinguish myself from others.  Since then, I have been spelling my name with an additional G..it stuck.  I am the oldest of three children.  I have a brother and a sister,  My parents and most of my other family members live in Pennsylvania...NEPA (North East PA).  You may have heard of Scranton (from the Office) and you may have also heard of Wilkes-Barre. That's where I am from.  I moved to Boston in 2006 when I started grad school at MGH Institute of Health Professions to get my Master's in Speech-Language Pathology.  When I was in grad school, I picked up a part-time job at Redbones BBQ in Davis Square.  That is where I met my boyfriend, Clayton, who is an amazing person and has grown up with me since I was 22-years old.  In 2007ish, I started to swing dance.  I was AWFUL, but stuck with it for some reason and I am now in a swing dance group that performs at events, weddings, etc.  I still can't believe that I get paid to dance sometimes.  It's unreal.  I graduated in 2008 and stayed in Somerville, MA because I loved it so much.  I still live in Somerville and I work in Newton at a small outpatient clinic working with brain injury.  I've mentioned these things before, so I won't go into them too much.   So I guess if I had to pick 5 words that were semantically related to me, they might be:

1.  SLP (Speech-Language Pathologist)

2.  Swing Dance

3.  Somerville

4.  Pennsylvania

5.  Italian

Yeah, so that's a quick intro.  Nice to meet you.  

Here is a pic of Clayton and I at one of our swing dance gigs.

Here is a pic of our swing dance group from a 20s event.  That was one of the best days ever.

Tomorrow, I will discuss 3 wishes!  Can't wait.

Dance, Dance, Dance

I just got home from the weekly MIT swing dance and ::sigh:: it was awesome.  Every Wednesday, for about 3 or 4 years now, I have gone to this dance.  At 7:30 every Wednesday, me and my dance group, the Lindy Bomb Squad, practice our routines and our "phrases" in preparation for our next gig or social dance.  At 9:00, we then head over to MIT for the social dance.  Tonight was a great night..good music..good dancers and lots of fun.  Our latest routine that we performed was a Charleston routine.  Here it is!  Lindy Bomb Squad - Moonshine  This was at the 20s Lawn Party at the Crane Estate in Ipswich.  Such a gorgeous place and has a special place in my heart.  Anyways, it's a bit late.  I will post more about dancing when I have some more time. As for now, good night and dance away if you can :)

30-Day Challenge

Wow.  I am terrible for not writing in this blog for about 3 years when I said I would update every week.  Better late than never!  A great deal has changed since my last post.  I have a new(ish) job at an outpatient facility in Newton, working with adults with brain injury.  It's a great place and very rewarding.  Clayton and I got back together about a year and a half after we broke up.  We have been together for about 2.5 years now since that time.  Time flies!!  I still live in Somerville and swing dance often.  The Lindy Bomb Squad is going strong and we now get paid for some of our gigs!  Check out our site!!    Lindy Bomb Squad  Woot woot!  I went to Iceland in 2011 with my grandmother (Nonie), Uncle Johnny, Aunt Alda and company. It was amazing and I want to go back ASAP.  My little sister, Erin is going to be a Junior in college.  She is going to transfer to Misericordia this next school year to study Speech Pathology, which is really awesome.  Nick (younger brother) just got an apartment in Scranton with Brad Lee (long time friend).  Hopefully, they won't burn Scranton down when they actually get settled.  Zhenya (first roomie in Boston) is going to get married this weekend and I couldn't be happier for her.  All is pretty well.

So that takes me to today..why am I posting again?  At my newish job, I work with adults who have sustained brain injuries and I try to improve functioning in all areas of their lives.  One area that is typically effected is information processing..how long it takes you to process information and/or how well you do.  To work on this, I usually have them watch a video clip and summarize it.  Ted Talks are my go to and I find them so interesting.  If you haven't heard of Ted Talks, you must check out the site. They have talks that are inspirational, educational, funny, etc.  There is something for everyone.  One day, I happened upon on Ted Talk that really spoke to me.  Link:  30-day challenge  It's a very quick Ted Talk, but it really inspired me to try it.  For the month of August, I'm going to try and write something everyday for a month.  We shall see how it goes.  I'm going to try the strategy of "not going to bed until I blog rule".  My posts may be light...awful or maybe I will surprise myself.  Let's do this.

It's Been a Long Time

I have been REALLY bad at writing this year..terrible. So this summer, I plan to write at least once a week. It's really nice to look back and read all the things I did, thought, experienced. Especially since I have a poor memory.

In a nutshell, I am still at my job at Bemiss (now working outpatient and acute care along with the rehab), I have to move (again) from my current apartment, am addicted to swing dancing, and Clayton and I broke up, but still are super close. He is one of my best friends. Future posts will be 1. *6 reunion 2010
2. The Lindy Bomb Squad
3. Jen and the Gym

It's too late now, so I will have to write about these things ASAP. Happy Summer and Happy Birthday Dad!

Sick and Tired of being...well...Sick

When I got the job as a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) in a hospital, I was pretty pumped. I was always interested in all the interesting cases that SLPs see in hospitals and the fast-paced environment excited me. Well...one thing they don't tell you too much is you will get sick your first year...alot. I am usually a pretty healthy person. I don't usually have to go to the doctors and my dad can normally help me with any minor ailment over the phone. This year though, I have been hit hard by illnesses..stupid hospital jobs.

So what do I have this time? Since last Tuesday or so, I felt a heaviness in my chest. I didn't really think anything of it. I just thought it was some sort of minor respiratory issue. When I got home from work on Thursday though, I felt dizzy and feverish. I took my temperature and it was a small fever..about 99 or so. Over a half hour or so though, it got up to 100.7. I called in sick the next day from work thinking I would have a whole weekend to recover. Friday I felt a bit better, went out a bit to do some errands and everything. That night though, I couldn't sleep at all...the fever returned with a nasty cough. Saturday morning came and I still had a fever and a cough. I finally called the doctor and got myself an appointment. They made me wear a mask and everything in case I had the flu. I was mortified when I had to walk through the waiting room with someone escorting me into an exam room. Oh and she also had a mask on too, which made it look like I was the most diseased person in the world.

The office was very busy and I waited almost an hour until I got to see the doctor. When he did get into my room and completed a short exam, he ordered tons of tests including a blood test and x-ray. He wanted to make sure I didn't have the flu, mono, or some other crazy things. By this time, I was thinking, oh man, I have the swine. So I went to the lab and x-ray to get the tests done. When I returned to the office, the doctor called me over to look at my x-ray. He then shocked me when he said I have pneumonia! I couldn't believe it. Only like 80 year olds get pneumonia right? I guess not. Then he said that I should get an IV of fluids because I was also dehydrated. What a day.

The nurses were great at the office. They got my IV all set and turned off the lights so I could "rest". I spent a total of 4 hours in the office before I got to go home. I was relieved to see that Clayton took a train home from his job to be with me.

So, I took Monday off from work and I'm thinking I might have to take Tuesday off too. Hopefully, this is the last sickness I get in a while. Knock on wood.

Visitors!

I haven't written in a long time. Nor have I been to a diner...June and July have been pretty crazy. Anyways, this weekend, my former college roommate is coming to visit me. I am super pumped. We lost contact for a few years, but we recently got reconnected and made plans to hang out. She still lives in PA, so it's not shortest ride, but she was still willing to come. She has never been to Boston so I'm very excited to have her stay and fall in love with this city as much as I have.

I love visitors. Doesn't matter who it is. I just love when people want to hang out. It makes my night, weekend, week, etc. It's a shame I live kinda far from home where all my friends and family live. BUT it's also bitter sweet when they come to visit. I get very excited and can't wait to show them everything I can. It's so very sad when they have to leave. Most of my friends from PA have not made the 5 hour trek to here, but hopefully, one day, they will come. I have had many of my *6 friends visit me. Each time they do, we have the greatest time. AHH I can't wait for her to get here! She just called, she is about 15 mins away!

Tag!

So I got tagged by SWANEESINGER. My first tag ever! Exciting.


EIGHT THINGS I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO:
1. Traveling to Colorado in a week. I have the travel bug bad.
2. My birthday in July. Also, that weekend, my friend from college, Anna, is coming to visit me. I love visitors.
3. My family reunion the last weekend in July. Knoebels, here I come!
4. Receiving my certification as a Speech-Language Pathologist (June 25th)!
5. Being a bridesmaid for my friend's wedding. This will be the first wedding I am actually in.
6. Reading more books this summer.
7. Going to the beach...when it finally gets hot out.
8. Running more than 4 miles. Almost there.

EIGHT THINGS I DID YESTERDAY:
1. Went to the movies with Clayton and saw Up.
2. Took Clayton to White Castle. We were in Jersey so I had to take him for his first time.
3. Drove home from Jersey.
4. Stopped at my favorite exit off of I-84 on my way home for a quick bite to eat.
5. Played tons of Spider Solitaire in the car and won once!
6. Listened to some classic cds, Harvest by Neil Young rocks my world.
7. Ate Macadamia nuts for the first time ever.
8. Talked with my mom, dad, and aunt on the phone.

EIGHT THINGS I WISH THAT I COULD DO:
1. Travel to Australia.
2. Run 6 miles.
3. Lose 10 pounds.
4. Pay off my school loans.
5. Be closer to my family and friends.
6. Be more confident in my SLP skills.
7. Travel every month to a new place.
8. Go on a shopping spree.

EIGHT TV SHOWS THAT I WATCH:
1. The Office
2. Mystery Diagnosis
3. Scrubs
4. What Not to Wear
5. Dirty Jobs
6. The Soup
7. Arrested Development
8. Dawson's Creek