Thursday, September 29, 2005

Feels Like Fall!

Posted 12:33 PM by Dezi Rollins, LSSP | 0 Thoughts

I really like the weather we're having today. I had to run back inside the apartment and get a jacket. Otherwise, I would have been cold, walking to the psychology building this morning! I'm wearing my jacket inside as well, the clinic is rather cold. Of course, I'm always cold! I sleep under all the covers every night.

It has turned out to be a good week. Tuesday, David and I played hooky and stayed home. It was wonderful! We ventured out for dinner, that was nice, too. Band on Tuesday night was great. I have a solo on the bells during one particular piece and I totally nailed it! The director even said I did a great job. Hooray! We're going to have a concert in early November, either the 1st or the 8th.

Yesterday, I ran a few errands, and spent a lot of time on the phone with clients or clinic staff. There was a mix-up between one of my clients and a similar client. Luckily, that got all straightened out. Last night's choir rehearsal was fun. We got to witness a really cool lightning show, but except for a few sprinkles, didn't see much rain. We were working on our Christmas program. I typically sing soprano in the choir, second soprano if the part is divided. Well, in our Christmas program, I go back and forth between soprano, second soprano and first alto. It makes for some interesting interval jumps, but I like the challenge. One of the songs we are singing, I learned how to sing in French, and it is very difficult for me to sing it in English. Oh well. I'll get it down.

Go make it a great one!

Monday, September 26, 2005

Hot, hot, hot!

Posted 3:28 PM by Dezi Rollins, LSSP | 0 Thoughts

The weather outside is still insanely hot! I thought since it was officially fall and the end of September, that the weather would get cooler! Not so. Oh well, I know it'll eventually get cooler. I know it'll be nice when it isn't so hot outside.

Sunday turned out to be a good day. We were having a "God's Job Fair" which was a chance for the congregation to learn about the different ministries and service opportunities within the church. I was in charge of the music ministry table. I had people come up and ask questions about the adult choirs, children's choirs and youth choir. And we also had packages of fun size M&Ms on the table, of which I sampled and tested the quality.

During Merry Music Maker rehearsal, I had a good turnout and a great rehearsal! We sang, we danced, and the kids were very responsive to everything. I left afterwards pumped and enthusiastic about the rest of the year! It's going to be so great!

Now if only it would get a little cooler...

Birthday Greeting: Happy Birthday, Heather!!!!

Saturday, September 24, 2005

In a Funk

Posted 10:39 PM by Dezi Rollins, LSSP | 0 Thoughts

I'm in a funk tonight. It has been a pretty decent week for me, I enjoyed my band and choir rehearsals this week, as well as all the compliments on my haircut! Those really made me feel great!

I'm in a funk because I haven't gotten to see my husband much this week. He's had to work late since Wednesday. I'm not upset at him, I'm upset at the situation. Today hasn't been any better, he got home from work at four this morning, and had to go back up there at nine. I don't sleep well when he's not here, and when he comes to bed, I wake up and have trouble going back to sleep. So, as you can imagine, both of us are running on very little sleep right now.

I know in the scheme of life, him having to work late a few nights is small potatoes, but I am still bummed that he has to work right now. Oh well, such is life I suppose.

This weekend hasn't been all bad, though. I went to Heather's birthday party last night and Amanda's birthday party tonight. I had a really good time at both of them. You know, I don't remember the last time I had a birthday party. It was probably in high school, and even then we'd usually just meet at a restaurant and do it all there.

Anywho, that's all I got tonight. I'm pretty mopey right now, but I'll get over it. Besides, someday it may be me who has to work late several nights in a row. It's all part of this game called life.

Thursday, September 22, 2005

A Knitting Lesson!

Posted 9:03 AM by Dezi Rollins, LSSP | 0 Thoughts

Monday night, I went over to my parents' house, to get my first knitting lesson. I decided to participate in one of our women's ministry projects, a group called Cover Girls. They knit blankets, booties, caps, etc. and donate them to area hospitals and shelters. Mom volunteered to teach me how to knit, and so on Monday, after my haircut, I learned how! I learned how to make a slip knot, cast the yarn onto the needle, complete a knit stitch, as well as binding the yarn off the needle. After working for a couple of hours on a swatch, it looked really bad. However, Mom says your first few swatches do look pretty bad.

The next day, I was at home until around lunchtime, since my appointments weren't until the afternoon. So I decided to try a second swatch. This one is looking a lot better. I have a tendency to add stitches, so I learned how to decrease and increase stitches. (Last night, I had too few stitches, so I added one. And it worked!)

At my next lesson, I'm going to learn the purl stitch, and also how to put swatches together. I'm really enjoying it so far, and I think I'll really enjoy the Cover Girls!

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Short Hair Dezi

Posted 9:58 AM by Dezi Rollins, LSSP | 0 Thoughts


Monday, September 19, 2005

Maestro Dezi

Posted 2:18 PM by Dezi Rollins, LSSP | 0 Thoughts

Yesterday was a very busy day! We visited at David's old church yesterday, to show off wedding pictures and dispense the bottle openers from our reception. It was good to see familiar faces again. Some of the youth seemed to grow up overnight! I can't believe how grown up (and tall!) they are. I feel really short now.

Yesterday afternoon, I had my second Merry Music Makers rehearsal. We didn't have as many kids this time. I also spent some time before going through my various children's cds, to find good songs for them to sing. David came in the room, as I was creating hand motions to one of the songs. He was quite amused by that. The rehearsal was nuts. I'm supposed to have another adult in the room with me, but it was just me yesterday. We did, however, get through most of the songs that I had prepared.

After they were finished, I was asked to sub for the youth choir director. I spent some time going over the songs they were working on. Once the kids got in, it became evident that they weren't really in a mood to sing. Or listen to me. I felt very, very frustrated by the end of rehearsal. It got to the point where I'd give up repeating where we were going to start, and told the accompanist just to start. A couple of girls on the front row were listening, but the others were not. All in all, it was not the best afternoon. Oh well, that's life.

And now for something completely different.....today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day. So make sure you participate! Arrrrrrrrr!

Friday, September 16, 2005

Running Just To Catch Myself

Posted 9:38 AM by Dezi Rollins, LSSP | 0 Thoughts

Actually, that really describes yesterday's activities, and not really today's. However, I liked the title, which is borrowed from a Mark Schultz song, one of my favorites. Yesterday went better than I thought it would, so that was great.

The observation went really well, and the second-year student and I had a great discussion about it afterwards. I had someone call in during my on-call hour, then they put me on hold. After they came back and I resumed asking the required questions, they said they would call back. Interesting. Then I had another observation scheduled for five. Well, apparently the client called and cancelled. So that meant instead of leaving after eight, I got to leave around 5:15. Hooray!

Since David was going to be late, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. After eating dinner and watching Joey, I decided to run myself a warm bath. Which was complicated in that I couldn't find any bath salts/gel/bubbles. I finally managed to locate some bath bubbles that I had. Whew! I brought in a boom box, plugged in my Best of Piano Concerto cd, lit some candles and hit the lights. Let me tell you, that bath felt really, really good! A perfect ending to a nuts day.

Thursday, September 15, 2005

Caffeine IV

Posted 10:07 AM by Dezi Rollins, LSSP | 0 Thoughts

Sometimes I really think I could use some intravenous caffeine. Today is one of those days. I have been sick the past three days. It started on Monday, was really bad Tuesday, and slightly better yesterday. I'm still not feeling up to par, but I had too many things going on today to miss. Today is going to be a marathon day for me. I got up here at my usual time, 8:00 a.m., and will be here through 8:00 p.m. As part of my practicum, I must supervise the less advanced students, and tonight was the only night she could schedule this assessment, and I must observe it. So that stinks royally, but what can you do? I could gripe about it, or I could just accept it and use the extra time wisely, which is what I'm doing.

I've printed off some more articles for my research project. I've found some interesting articles on spirituality, social support & diabetes. My plan for my article that I'll write is to start off broad, discussing both concepts separately, then together, then tying both of them in with diabetes research. Once I get a bunch of articles, I can crank this article out in a week or so. Then I'll condense the article for the poster. Since I'm familiar with the poster layout this time around, it'll go much quicker.

Let's see, what else is new. I had to miss band and choir because of being sick, I did not like that. I know it's better to stay home and not get others sick, but I still feel bad for having to miss. Oh well, better to be there when I'm well and can participate fully in the rehearsal.

Speaking of rehearsals, the Merry Music Makers had their first rehearsal on Sunday afternoon. I thought it went well, albeit a bit nuts. There were thirteen kids and one Dezi. That is not a good ratio, considering they're 3-5 years old. Luckily, Laurie told me that I'd have a helper next week. Yay! I do enjoy working with this age. I also will get to (just for this week!) lead the youth choir rehearsal on Sunday. The director has to be out, so he asked me to do it. I'll pick up the music tomorrow, so I'm not flying by the seat of my pants. I think it'll be fun, although I'm glad it's just a one-time deal.

That's it, kids. Go make it a great one!

Thursday, September 08, 2005

Euphoric, Elated & Just Plain Ecstatic!

Posted 9:23 AM by Dezi Rollins, LSSP | 0 Thoughts

As my title suggests, things are going pretty well in Dezi-world. This is my first week doing both my practicum and working. So far it is great! Things are really starting to fall into place at my job. I'm figuring out which clients need the most help, as well as resources to help them. Some of the clients will be long-term, where I will have frequent contact. Others I will just check in periodically, and still others I will provide them with a list of resources and suggestions, and send them on their way. I'm really excited about how everything is starting to gel. I've got appointments lined up for the next two weeks, which means money for Dezi, so yay!

Practicum is in full swing this week as well. I don't have any clients yet, but today is my first day to be the on-call clinician. I'm really excited about it. I also am scheduled for an intake hour, but if no one has scheduled anything for me (and they haven't as of this morning), then I can leave early. Which is still three o clock. But early is early, and I'll take it! The part that is kind of crummy is how early I have to get to Denton to get a parking spot. I'm usually there around 8:00 a.m., but I can use the spare time to work on readings, paperwork and research. In fact, I've already gotten several articles printed off to start work on my poster!

Tuesday night was my first rehearsal with the Frisco Community Band. While there were only a handful of people there, I've been told the band is a lot bigger. We read through some music, and it looks like there are a lot of good percussion parts. Now we just need more percussionists. The director told me afterwards that I did a good job, so yay! I'm looking forward to being in this group, and I really like that the rehearsals are just down the street from our apartment. I had considered taking a break from bands in general, but I was afraid that I'd never go back, so I decided to continue. I'm glad I did.

Last night, after choir, a group of guys that play guitar and sing for the Saturday worship service at church said that they were forming a band and asked if I wanted to play drums with them. Well, no one has to ask me twice to play drums! They want to play for different church events, such as the pumpkin patch or the craft fair. I have no idea when we'd rehearse or even if the idea will take off, but I'm excited at the prospect of getting to play drums!

Finally, one last piece of fantabulous news. Since I do a lot of driving for work and practicum, I am very aware of where there is cheaper gas. I've found that gas is about ten cents cheaper in the Mansfield and north Arlington areas. Driving to Denton this morning, I noticed two gas stations on Highway 380 that were $2.79! How about that? I guess we know where I'll be stopping for gas!

Go make it a great one!

Sunday, September 04, 2005

Smokefest X

Posted 9:31 PM by Dezi Rollins, LSSP | 0 Thoughts

Today was the annual celebration known as Smokefest. It started out as a small gathering of friends and family in someone's backyard. It slowly grew into the big shindig that it is today. So what is it? A gigantic barbecue competition. My father and his best friend from high school compete together and are known as the Two Jacks. (No, neither of them are named Jack. Long story.) My uncle Greg (Dad's brother) competes, along with several other guys. Now they have it at a state park, and is typically attended by several hundred people.

All of us have jobs that we do for Smokefest. Ever since the first year, I have been in charge of the official Smokefest soundtrack. I originally had made a tape of songs for my dad to listen to as they are smoking their meat. Now it's a cd and a collaborative effort between David & I. What's really funny is that it's the other guys that always ask about the soundtrack, it's not Dad.

This year, I also helped at the sign-in table. We accepted donations for this year's charity, signed people in, and gave them a wrist band. Everyone had to have a wrist band in order to eat. Then it was time to eat! Talk about a lot of meat! I'm talking carnivore special here! Dad always smokes some olives and mushrooms for me, and so I eat that, as well as other side dishes. It was a lot of fun, but it wears me out by the end of the day. Hooray for Smokefest!

Friday, September 02, 2005

Clinically Oriented

Posted 4:01 PM by Dezi Rollins, LSSP | 0 Thoughts

Today was orientation for students working in the psychology clinic. There are a total of four behavioral medicine students working in the clinic, all the others are clinical or counseling students. The orientation was geared towards the clinical and counseling students. So the four of us, who had never worked in the clinic were quite confused. I figured that I'd figure it out as I went along.

After orientation, we had group supervision. There is one first year student, two second years, and me. For practicum, the highest level is Level IV, so that is what I am considered. I like my supervisor so far, as well as the other members of my practicum team. We found out during supervision that we were all pretty confused about the protocol in the clinic. Luckily, the clinic director was in the hallway, so I asked him to help us out. After he was finished, I felt a lot better. On Thursday afternoons from 2-3, I will be the "on-call" clinician. That means if someone wants to schedule an intake, then I take down the information and put them on the schedule. I'm also responsible for dealing with any emergencies that arise during that hour. (There is a supervisor on call as well, so I'm not alone.)

On Thursdays from 3-5, I am responsible for conducting intake reports. If a person is scheduled during my time, then I conduct the intake interview. I will be seeing therapy clients also. I signed up for two clients right now, that will most likely increase as the semester goes by. One of the other clinicians will do the intake, then the client will be assigned to me. I'll schedule them either Mondays or Thursdays. I'll get the hang of it.

The best part about working at the clinic, is that I can run upstairs to the computer lab and do research when I'm not on-call or have clients. I will finally get a chance to work on some research. Then I can get to work on my dissertation! I am really excited about this. I'm ready to get started!

Thursday, September 01, 2005

Let's Go to God

Posted 2:41 PM by Dezi Rollins, LSSP | 0 Thoughts

I sing in the contemporary choir at church, also known as the Grace Avenue Singers. At the beginning and end of rehearsal, we discuss some of the prayer requests in our church's world. Well, we spend a long time discussing Hurricane Katrina. It's mind boggling to know that some of the places we went to in New Orleans are now underwater. We discussed friends and relatives who live in the areas affected by the hurricane, and the long road they have in front of them.

We sang some of the anthems that we are performing during the next few months. One of the songs is called Let's Go To God, by Kirk Robertson. I thought it was very appropriate for the current situation in our nation. Here are the words:

When a storm seems to rage or the road's been too long,
when the darkness just won't break to morning,
on your knees you will find there is sweet peace of mind,
that only the Father can give.

So let's go to God.
He knows our every need.
Within our hearts let us trust Him.
He is the answer.
Let's go to God.

So in faith lift your head,
there's no reason for fear.
He's a God who is still in control.
When our voices are raised in an anthem of praise,
we fin that His presence is there.

(chorus)

We have a Father so near,
and through His Son He will hear every prayer that we utter
He will calm every fear.

(chorus)

Copyright by Kirk-Leider.