Saturday, March 29, 2008.  Sally works today.  I dropped dad off at Home Depot then picked up Phoebe and Becka at the Lins’s house.  Hannah had Houston READ (website’s not really working lately) training that morning so she came by herself around noon.  Our Beacon shift is from 11 am to 2 pm.  Other people who came today were Linton, Brian Lee, Chi-Chi, Greg from Access, and six Rice students that Peter Ou invited.  Hannah helped with the laundry, and as expected (this is her first time) she was very impressed with the efficiency.  (They didn’t pass out clothes today, like I did last time, which was my first time.)  Becka and I volunteered to help with the salad, not knowing (or at least not me, but probably her as well since this is her first time) we’d have the hardest lunch lady jobs.  It’s the hardest because while the entrees just need to be scooped (which I’m guessing can be difficult as well since you need strength to scoop), we had to assemble ours on the spot (and you know how they can be picky).  It was basically nonstop for the full three hours.  Becka handled the fruit salad but helped me out when there was a stream of garden salad requests (lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and dressing).  I abandoned the utensils and just used my latex-gloved hand to put the lettuce in the bowl, but later on one of the staff whispered in my ear that I had to use the tongs, so I returned to that method.  I didn’t ask about this method, but sometimes I would just use the bowl and scoop the lettuce that way.  Turns out Thousand Island is the most popular, with a close second from Ranch (one guy asked me to pour it on literally everything on his tray), with Italian dressing being the third pick (and it’s also probably the healthiest, because it’s the clearest).  We were sometimes good-naturedly hit on, and one woman commented on my “Cindy Crawford beauty” mole. 

For lunch we went to This Is It.  It was cleaner than the last place we visited (The Breakfast Klub).  They also had two fish tanks: the one close to the restroom is saltwater while the one with the turtles is freshwater (reminds me of Andrew Eng and I don’t know which environment is harder to maintain, I think he had said saltwater because of the salt concentration?).  Phoebe and I shared a combo, and good thing.  Becka and Hannah shared a combo, too.  Peter and Linton of course got their own plates.  Haha, Linton likes this place (probably due to quantity).  I do think The Breakfast Klub is slightly overpriced due to the hype they build up (I felt they were a bit arrogant, if we had contested).  During the meal, Phoebe shared that she had talked with the staff.  Though it’s only been a year since the Beacon opened, there was a lot of planning behind it.  The main guy at first worked with the church staff as a consultant since he used to work at CiCi’s (thus knows how to stretch a dollar), and as a hotel manager (thus the laundry system).  When it was concluded, the church staff asked this church member to join their committee (paid of course), so he agreed.  Amazing how God works; reminds me of “you have come to [this] position for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14 - hey I’m not a Bible scholar in the least, so I may have totally taken that out of context). 

How would you rate the job you have right now?  Linton says he’d rate it a 4-6 on a 10 scale.  Someone mentioned that the better scale would be a 7 scale because 10 is too many and there’s not a significant difference between the hash marks.  Haha, so he calculated what his 10-scale answer would be on the 7 scale.  Hannah asked me how I would rate occupational therapy.  I couldn’t really give her a real answer (or maybe I gave a better answer?) and she was understanding.  I think all settings of occupational therapy are amazing, especially working with children (I feel if you get that job you would have the most variety of exposure, especially working at Ben Taub), whereas in physical dysfunction you’ll probably have more depth than breadth (e.g. my CI at St. Luke’s really liked neuro, and Shanae ended up getting a job at TIRR in I think Brain Injury).  With my personality, I probably have to go with depth because breadth would probably overwhelm me.  I think what would work for me is to get my handle on something, and then as I learn more and more about it, and research more on my own when I’ve leveled out, I can get better at my little part of the world.  I never really had much of a “vision” either.  That’s just my thinking right now.  But there’s nothing that pops out for me, so vareity and breadth is also attractive….

Everyone left afterwards.  I went to R.E.I. around 4 pm because I saw it from the road (off Westheimer) and figured I’d check it out.  Jessie Tan had mentioned she got a sweet deal on a sleeping bag (that’s awesomely soft, insulated, and easy to pack into a small bag), but the sale was over when I went over and checked.  Michael’s was nearby so I went inside and browsed (bad idea - my time killer).  I finally bought from the clearance rack, about $10 worth of dollar and half-dollar items:  glow sticks, candle tins, big bubble-blower, rolls of yarn, photo mat so I can trace, two decks of magic cards (for Wilson, haha), and brushes for my activity analysis.  I finally arrived home at 6:30, read the comics, ate dinner, played the piano, then went to bed at 8:30.  They went on a night on the town for Kenneth See’s going-away party (since he’s going to California), but that’s not my thing.

Sunday, March 30, 2008.  I left the house pretty early this Sunday, around noon.  I was trying to find free wi-fi hotspot havens (houston.about.com/od/diningoutgoingout/f/wifi.htm) but all the ones I checked out turned out to be nonexistent (Doochie E-Cafe, Cakeland Cafe on Wilcrest, and of course I can’t be in the Holiday Inn parking lot using their internet, which seemed secure anyway).  I gave up and decided to drive to football but keep my eye out for any signs.  United Sisters Restaurant caught my eye, but when I opened the door there were a lot of African-American men watching a game on the television, and I didn’t want to feel like I’m getting on their territory or suspicious (plus my bravery sort of left me) and no one noticed I was at the door so I changed my mind.  I was really hungry so I walked to the Subway on Bellaire instead (it’s not part of the strip, but in the middle of the parking lot).  It’s a one-man show (only one guy is there serving and taking the money).  They didn’t have Seafood Sensation, or Tuna (which is alright with me, since they probably have the most calories), or ____.  I asked him what they DID have, and then he started saying that the previous shift before him didn’t prepare anything for him, so in the morning he was only able to cut the cheese, etc.  He seemed pretty frustrated, I wasn’t picky this afternoon so I wasn’t miff, but the lady behind me was a bit surprised that it was THAT narrow of a selection (she wasn’t demanding or anything).  I think she frequents here more than I do (well, this is my first time haha).  I finally asked for Meatball, which they finally had.  I then worked on school stuff from 2:30-5:30 pm at the Schlotzsky’s next to Randall’s a few minutes away from Willow Park.  I know, I kind of stumbled upon it, so I would’ve bought something to eat there plus use their facility (and their wi-fi, which is for customers only).  I watched them play football from 6 until they left at 7:30.  Tiffany said they were eating someplace close to where she lives, which is far from here, so I said I’ll go home to eat instead.  I went home and did so, talking with Vickie on the phone for an hour about Guatemala.  I washed my clothes, showered, chatted online with Nathan Wang and Jonathan, then went to bed at 11 pm.