Summer is coming to an end, and fall is beginning.  I will be having my new job orientation starting Monday and was already called yesterday to ask if I’d like extra hours due to another employee taking maternity leave!  It’s so exciting, I can’t wait to meet both of my new bosses (two different buildings /locations within the large facility) and figure out my new schedule.  I bought a new date book so I can’t wait to start filling it in!  Considering where I was four years ago this thanksgiving the idea of it all is almost surreal.  Was I going to survive vs I’m a master’s graduate with job and internship! (internship slow to start but that’s ok).

I also met a drama therapist at my internship who was visiting, and we have kept in touch. For anyone else interested in the creative therapies and hemodialysis units, we are considering teaming up to start a research project!  No clue when or where yet but we are in the process of looking up grants and scholarships, and a potential music therapist to join us!

With all this employment excitement, I can finally take responsibility for my financial concerns and am that much closer to living on my own!  (Yay bills, car phone loans etc.)   I’m fortunate to say my bills from cancer treatment are almost if not finished thanks to my dad, but I have everything else to take over and loan repayments start in November.  I have been looking at other blogs though and wondered if any other viewers have questions of my experience with cancer.  As I have mentioned, the financial burden was horrendous, and I was very lucky to have my family support me in that aspect.  I would be glad to answer any questions in my next entry, either post them here or privately.

I have received the official job offer for life enrichment assistant!!! I will qualify for benefits and everything even with part time!  So instead of school shopping I bought a brand-new planner for all the activities I’ll be planning for my new job and new blouses!!!  Omg so excited. Bright and early tomorrow I get to fill out paperwork and either wait till sept 9 for orientation or start sooner!!!

Four years ago, at this time I was getting a handicap pass to go back to school.  The fall of 2009, I was in my final year of undergrad, my sister-in-law was pregnant with my little nephew, and I was preparing for an internship at a community center with an art therapist.  I was also in severe on-going pain, and needed the handicap pass to get closer parking on campus and other places.  My chiro was only minimally taking the pain away by that point, but I was determined to continue school, my part time in class aid job, and do my internship. Hell, I made it that far, right? What was another school year of pain when I could at least park closer to my destination.

Now, my brother is getting a divorce, I survived the pain, chemotherapy, my undergrad and master’s program, am interning at a local hospital chain with an expressive art therapy program, and today had an awesome interview as a life enrichment assistant at an assisted living facility!!!!!!!!

I thought the pain would kill me, but here I am stronger than ever finally reaching my goals.  It’s totally awesome!  On top of that since I’m back in state I get to see my nephews, last week me and the older one went to a snake show!   And the younger one learned how to use learning games on my iPad 🙂 yay for Elmo!  But he has also discovered our old big bike and soccer!  The older one enjoys frogs and reading about squids.  Oh, the joys of little ones.

Now that I’m finally doing art therapy, it’s time to move to next goals and not let my medical history haunt me from meeting my prince charming and giving my nephews some cousins!  Who knows, maybe Santa will help me out this Christmas 🙂   Yay for no pain and doing what I enjoy! (now keep your fingers crossed that I get this job, should find out by Friday)

Hey again, I just want to post a shout out to two friends who are making some spare gas money with their hobbies. http://www.etsy.com/people/kittycup , my old roomie and http://www.etsy.com/shop/CraftyPawsbyTrisha my other old roomie!  Both have amazing selections, crafty paws have been around a bit longer, so the selection is greater, but Kittycup has a nice variety of cards and decorations, and is slowly growing, so please take a look and send them message for custom made cards and decor!

Soo excited, am officially at my internship, just need to finalize my schedule, and today I got called for an interview!!!!!!  Tuesday afternoon I may have a new part time job!  And also made plans for an expressive art therapy card workshop that my friend and I are leading this fall! *Referring to the minion crafter who will for sure be commenting here 😉 * any who, such an awesome day, had to share!

Since I will be volunteering and receiving supervision, I started a new journal!

Every semester in my program we received a brand-new journal to use during our practicum and internship for self-reflection, questions, supervision notes, etc.  This time however I am trying something new, I am creating a journal via “altered book” method.  I raided half price books for some cheap books that had good illustration with decent weight pages and tonight I was finally inspired to start!

When this project was originally introduced to me back in freshman year I said, “no way am I destroying a book to make another book” (also wasn’t explained well in my opinion).  It was not introduced during my latest program, and now that I’m back in the Midwest, it’s what everyone’s doing!!!   When I first visited art therapy interns at my new site, they all whipped out their journals which were really altered books.  Same at supervision, and then at the latest open studio, a cancer patient shared with me her story, and her altered books.

Her story was very powerful, and she was working on a 3-book series using old medical books from the research library.  She incorporated words, images, modge podge, tissue paper, you name it she had used it.  I felt honored that she shared with me, not everything of course but at least her feelings toward the subject and let me leaf through her books, such a great way to release thoughts and feelings toward such a painful time in such a positive way!  Knowing what I know now about this project I totally recommend it.  It’s one thing starting a brand-new sketchbook with empty white pages, but it’s another to bounce off of other words and images prewritten to make it your own.  (If this worked, I included the first few pages of my altered book)

I have been working on my portraits the last couple days, so I should soon have something to show!   I switched from basic sketch paper to nicer paper today, which requires a bit of an adjustment with the charcoal!  Thanks to my family and friends for allowing me to use their albums and photos to practice with :). It gives me a lot more variety as opposed to staring at my own photos on hours end!   I also am excited, because I found a new set of chalk pastels with both grey tones and skin tones for inexpensive price, so I can start incorporating color instead of only B&W!