nothing much happening this third week at work... but i have been going out on workplace Axs with Nat alot this week... seen quite a variety of workplaces, and also two ADL reviews... Found out that day that my manager and i had a miscommunication regarding the visa... the visa that the company is willing to sponsor me on is not the one that i was looking at, and what was worse was that the visa was a temporary one, which meant that I won't be a permanent resident if i go on that visa... so that was something that kind of stressed me out that day... and then today, found out that the AFP did not receive my application, and so i had to resend my application again, and pay again, and there is nothing i could do to trace back the application and the money...
on the slightly more positive note... i received my first referral today... and the injured worker was a Mandarin speaking lady... so what happened was i had to call the worker and she did not understand me at all... so i had no choice but to speak Mandarin with her over the phone... and after the phone call... people in the office started making fun of me... but in a good way, like you know in future all the chinese speaking referrals will be given to me and i could have been saying nonsense to the worker and nobody would know... so in a way... it was quite lucky i got to use my second language in my first case... but Nat's client was abit more difficult in terms of the worker did not understand her obligations and was unwilling to participate in the workplace assessment... so i had to like apologise a million times and finally, convinced her to attend the workplace assessment next week... but bcos my mandarin was quite crappy and i did not know how to explain some technical stuff to her in chinese, nat organised for an interpreter to come that day as well... so next week should be interesting... although i really did not expect to get my first referral that fast... i was really caught unprepared...
another more positive note, nat and i went to CBA this morning for an ergonomic assessment and on the way back, we got lindt iced chocolate takeaway... oh it was so good... sometimes, i wished i was working in that area, so i could go drink it every day... haha...
so at the moment, it's the end of another week of my new job... still trying to grasp alot of info and concepts... but i kind of like the challenge of the job... but can't really fully concentrate bcos of the visa issue... so really crossing my fingers that my visa will go smoothly...
oh and Happy Chinese New Year!!! can't believe it's the year of the ox and i am turning 24... damn don't even feel like i am 24...
Friday, January 23, 2009
Thursday, January 15, 2009
比乌龟还慢。。。
second week of working... nothing much happening... was mostly reading up on my anatomy stuff... only went out with one of the consultants on the team for a worksite review that day to the commonwealth bank in the city... and after seeing the client, we had a mini detour to the lindt cafe there, and i had my really yummy iced milk chocolate... it was sooo delicious, and it was also really hot that day so the iced chocolate was definitely a highlight of my second week... and today one of the consultants on the team finally came back from her long holiday and she was also going to be my 'buddy'... so everybody in the office was really excited to see her and hear all the stories and bcos she also got engaged during this time, so the whole day, i could hear her repeating her stories to different people... and today one of the colleagues on my team got me to help her out with the filing of the documents, and i think the manager did not seem too happy with that... but i think starting from next week, probably i will get to go out more often, already at the moment, i have been booked in for an ergonomic assessment, and ADL assessment and a workplace assessment...
and i am still waiting for the results to be uploaded onto the uni system... seriously they are soo inefficient... really delaying my PR application process... and it's already mid jan and my student visa expiring soon... why are people so slow??!! and bcos things seemed to be moving so slowly, i decided to email and call the uni coordinators to find out what was happening... in the end, i got an email basically telling me not to keep emailing everyone and asking them about it and that they are currently working on it... well there's really nothing i can do now that they have basically asked me to stop harrassing them... sometimes, uni seriously gives me the shits...
and i am still waiting for the results to be uploaded onto the uni system... seriously they are soo inefficient... really delaying my PR application process... and it's already mid jan and my student visa expiring soon... why are people so slow??!! and bcos things seemed to be moving so slowly, i decided to email and call the uni coordinators to find out what was happening... in the end, i got an email basically telling me not to keep emailing everyone and asking them about it and that they are currently working on it... well there's really nothing i can do now that they have basically asked me to stop harrassing them... sometimes, uni seriously gives me the shits...
Friday, January 09, 2009
1st WeEk aT wORk...
I survived the first week at work!! yes... the one thing which i like abt my new job is the really nice and friendly and helpful people in the company and the team... bcos the company is pretty small... there is abt 18 of us, so everyone pretty much can see and hear everyone... and the consultants on my team are really helpful, and my manager is very experienced in this area as well and the good thing is she is also an OT... on the other hand, the thing i did not like this first week was the days when i just sat and read the whole day... it was so boring, my eyes really hurt just from staring at the screen all day and sitting down for long periods of time... and dunno if it is bcos i am stressed out abt the visa or work, but i can't sleep at night, like i go to bed so early ard 10am and i wake up at 3am, and after that, i could not go back to sleep and i feel so crappy the whole day, and i get a headache at the end of the day... and my feet hurt too from the really uncomfortable shoes i wear... just not used to wearing shoes with heels and even without heels, my feet hurt too...
however, had some really good experiences this week... went out with the consultants to observed how they conducted workplace assessments, and i got to visit places like a construction site and i got to wear steel cap boots, which btw i have to get one sometime in the future too... i also got to experience what it was like up in the ferry master's cabin... cos the injured worker was a ferry master, so we had to go up into the ferry master's cabin to observe him carrying out his duties... but i got really seasick that day, and i really wanted to throw up... i was like telling myself to look straight ahead and wishing for my supervisor to hurry up with the assessment so that we can leave... but when we were abt to leave, we were told that the ferry was abt to leave for a destination, and the employed rep asked if we would be able to tag along for a return trip... i was like... you're shitting me... i cannot believe my luck... so in the end, i was really feeling so sick by the time we got back onto solid ground... thank god i did not throw up or do something embarrassing... and in the afternoon, i followed another consultant on my team to cabramatta to assess a worker who works at a bank... so yeah, had quite a few interesting experiences, and hopefully in the coming weeks and months, i would be able to go out and do stuff... although now i have to revise my anatomy and COP knowledge...
oh and another thing which i thought was pretty significant to me... that day when i went out with one of the consultants on my team... he introduced me as his colleague, and it was actually quite shocking to hear myself being introduced as a colleague rather than a student like i was used to during placements... but i still feel like a student... transitioning from being a student to an OT definitely requires some getting used to...
however, had some really good experiences this week... went out with the consultants to observed how they conducted workplace assessments, and i got to visit places like a construction site and i got to wear steel cap boots, which btw i have to get one sometime in the future too... i also got to experience what it was like up in the ferry master's cabin... cos the injured worker was a ferry master, so we had to go up into the ferry master's cabin to observe him carrying out his duties... but i got really seasick that day, and i really wanted to throw up... i was like telling myself to look straight ahead and wishing for my supervisor to hurry up with the assessment so that we can leave... but when we were abt to leave, we were told that the ferry was abt to leave for a destination, and the employed rep asked if we would be able to tag along for a return trip... i was like... you're shitting me... i cannot believe my luck... so in the end, i was really feeling so sick by the time we got back onto solid ground... thank god i did not throw up or do something embarrassing... and in the afternoon, i followed another consultant on my team to cabramatta to assess a worker who works at a bank... so yeah, had quite a few interesting experiences, and hopefully in the coming weeks and months, i would be able to go out and do stuff... although now i have to revise my anatomy and COP knowledge...
oh and another thing which i thought was pretty significant to me... that day when i went out with one of the consultants on my team... he introduced me as his colleague, and it was actually quite shocking to hear myself being introduced as a colleague rather than a student like i was used to during placements... but i still feel like a student... transitioning from being a student to an OT definitely requires some getting used to...
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
NeXT chAptER... aN OT (unofficial)...
yep, i am now an unofficial Occupational Therapist, cos i am undergoing training and will be under probation for 6 mths before i can be considered an official rehabilitation consultant, that's my new job title... yesterday was the first day of work for me... let's just say that the work environment and the culture are very different from usual hospital clinical settings... it's basically how you want to spend your time, but you have to make sure that you work 8 hours a day, but other than that, you can pretty much do whatever, so what happened was during lunchtime, not everybody will take their lunch together, some might choose to have it at their desk or have it earlier or later... and one of the nice things i thought was me getting my own workstation, which meant own desk, own computer, own phone and own company mobile phone... and becos we are an occ rehab company, workstation ergonomics is very important, so my manager got another colleague in my team to assess my workstation, which meant that today i got a new document holder, which is the kind that sits over the keyboard and you can type and look at the documents without having to twist your head... and the phone is a handsfree set, with the headphones and all... like a call centre... and apparently i will also be getting a new footrest tomorrow... i thought it was all very cool... haha... i was so tempted to take a photo of my workstation to commemorate... but everything was not as glamourous as it seems... even though i have not been doing any actual OT stuff yet, and i have just been assigned to doing reading stuff... watching my team members and from all the bits and pieces that i am learning along the way, it is really challenging, and you can get sued more easily than if you worked in the hospital setting if you did something bad...
but on a good note, everybody in the office are really friendly and nice... there's abt 18 of us in the office, and my team has 6 members, including me... so there's 4 OTs, 1 PT and 1 exercise physiologist... and being a kiasu singaporean, i went to buy my own organiser and notebook before i started, and now bcos all our stationary are pretty much provided, so we get our own stationary, own organiser, etc... and stupid me threw the receipt away so i can't return the organiser... what am i going to do with 2 organisers?? anyway, it's pretty boring now, and hopefully it will get more exciting when i can go out and do stuff... although i am not really complaining abt being stuck in the office cos it's so hot outside...
but on a good note, everybody in the office are really friendly and nice... there's abt 18 of us in the office, and my team has 6 members, including me... so there's 4 OTs, 1 PT and 1 exercise physiologist... and being a kiasu singaporean, i went to buy my own organiser and notebook before i started, and now bcos all our stationary are pretty much provided, so we get our own stationary, own organiser, etc... and stupid me threw the receipt away so i can't return the organiser... what am i going to do with 2 organisers?? anyway, it's pretty boring now, and hopefully it will get more exciting when i can go out and do stuff... although i am not really complaining abt being stuck in the office cos it's so hot outside...
Saturday, January 03, 2009
WOw... 2009...
we went on another road trip on new year's day... this time we decided to head south to the grand pacific drive and then further on to kiama... started early on our journey and left the house ard 730am... our first stop was the bald hill lookout which looks down onto the grand pacific drive... it was not as windy as the previous time when i was there with the berala gang... the weather forecast on that day was 34 degrees so it was going to be a hot day... but it was still not too hot till like mid afternoon...
anyway, our next stop was the grand pacific bridge, we initially wanted to walk the whole length of the bridge but decided against it cos it was getting quite hot... next we drove on to the buddhist temple in wollongong... it was so crowded... crowded with asians of course... so we did not stay long, but i was remembering when we also visited the temple a year ago... well nothing much has changed since though...
next we drove on to kiama... which was abt 45 min away from wollongong... and when we arrived in kiama, the first stop was the famous blowholes... it was abit disappointing bcos there was only apparently one huge one, and we did not get to see really huge sprays... i think the best way is to find out in future when would be the best time to visit in order to catch the huge sprays like we saw on the brochures... after that, we had a picnic lunch, and the weather was really nice, it was not too hot and the wind was blowing cos we were quite close to the waters... we brought along sandwiches and seriously, i am so breaded out now after both roadtrips...
our next stop was the carrington falls... apparently it is a 50m waterfall which falls into the kangaroo valley river... it took us forever to get there, cos initially uncle suggested going to minamurra falls instead cos it was closer but we lost our way and must have missed it along the way, so we decided to continue driving on to carrington falls instead... and i think we made a good decision bcos we could not only get to see the falls, there was also a small pathway leading up to the beginning of the falls, so you can actually get into the stream... it was so pretty and all of us went down... there were quite a few people there too playing in the water cos it was getting really hot... and the water was really nice and clear as well... the only thing i disliked was the stupid flies buzzing everywhere... we were all so excited when we realised that we could actually go into the stream... after that, we drove back down and the view was really amazing along the way... it was like acres of greenery and occasionally there were cows as well grazing... and we happened to pass by this farm where we noticed the cows were all lining up the hill, and they looked like they were trained or something bcos there were all just standing there waiting and not one cow moved out of line... we were so intrigued that we stopped to take photos... our last stop for the day was to kendalls beach... and we spent quite awhile at the beach... it was soo hot that day... initially i thought i would just dip myself in the water, but not actually swim, but prisy was like pushing for me to go out into the waves with her, and it was quite scary at first, bcos some waves were really huge and when they crashed on you, it really felt like you were being dunked and i was so scared... and i could not feel the sand below me anymore... so i did not want to continue but prisy and mich kept insisting that i go out with them... and after awhile, we managed to find a point where we could just try to outjump the smaller waves and i was getting pretty good at it, but when the huge waves came, either you close your eyes and nose or you dive under the waves, or else you get dunked by the waves... and also i hated how the saltwater stings your eyes... but after awhile, i was actually having fun, if i don't think abt what might actually be under the water and what i might be stepping or swimming in...
we stayed at the beach till pretty late, we started driving back to sydney ard 730pm, and got home around 10pm... all of us were exhausted... but i am very proud of myself that day cos i did not sleep at all the entire journey... usually bcos i get carsick really easily... i sleep on roadtrips most of the time, unless i am driving... but i was awake the entire time... but at the end of the day, i was soo tired... the rest wanted to watch kungfu panda but i gave up after the first 15 min of the movie and went to bed...
i can't believe i am going to be working this monday... it still feels unreal... i am officially joining the working class now... and i am turning 24 this year... damn... starting to feel old...
anyway, our next stop was the grand pacific bridge, we initially wanted to walk the whole length of the bridge but decided against it cos it was getting quite hot... next we drove on to the buddhist temple in wollongong... it was so crowded... crowded with asians of course... so we did not stay long, but i was remembering when we also visited the temple a year ago... well nothing much has changed since though...
next we drove on to kiama... which was abt 45 min away from wollongong... and when we arrived in kiama, the first stop was the famous blowholes... it was abit disappointing bcos there was only apparently one huge one, and we did not get to see really huge sprays... i think the best way is to find out in future when would be the best time to visit in order to catch the huge sprays like we saw on the brochures... after that, we had a picnic lunch, and the weather was really nice, it was not too hot and the wind was blowing cos we were quite close to the waters... we brought along sandwiches and seriously, i am so breaded out now after both roadtrips...
our next stop was the carrington falls... apparently it is a 50m waterfall which falls into the kangaroo valley river... it took us forever to get there, cos initially uncle suggested going to minamurra falls instead cos it was closer but we lost our way and must have missed it along the way, so we decided to continue driving on to carrington falls instead... and i think we made a good decision bcos we could not only get to see the falls, there was also a small pathway leading up to the beginning of the falls, so you can actually get into the stream... it was so pretty and all of us went down... there were quite a few people there too playing in the water cos it was getting really hot... and the water was really nice and clear as well... the only thing i disliked was the stupid flies buzzing everywhere... we were all so excited when we realised that we could actually go into the stream... after that, we drove back down and the view was really amazing along the way... it was like acres of greenery and occasionally there were cows as well grazing... and we happened to pass by this farm where we noticed the cows were all lining up the hill, and they looked like they were trained or something bcos there were all just standing there waiting and not one cow moved out of line... we were so intrigued that we stopped to take photos... our last stop for the day was to kendalls beach... and we spent quite awhile at the beach... it was soo hot that day... initially i thought i would just dip myself in the water, but not actually swim, but prisy was like pushing for me to go out into the waves with her, and it was quite scary at first, bcos some waves were really huge and when they crashed on you, it really felt like you were being dunked and i was so scared... and i could not feel the sand below me anymore... so i did not want to continue but prisy and mich kept insisting that i go out with them... and after awhile, we managed to find a point where we could just try to outjump the smaller waves and i was getting pretty good at it, but when the huge waves came, either you close your eyes and nose or you dive under the waves, or else you get dunked by the waves... and also i hated how the saltwater stings your eyes... but after awhile, i was actually having fun, if i don't think abt what might actually be under the water and what i might be stepping or swimming in...
we stayed at the beach till pretty late, we started driving back to sydney ard 730pm, and got home around 10pm... all of us were exhausted... but i am very proud of myself that day cos i did not sleep at all the entire journey... usually bcos i get carsick really easily... i sleep on roadtrips most of the time, unless i am driving... but i was awake the entire time... but at the end of the day, i was soo tired... the rest wanted to watch kungfu panda but i gave up after the first 15 min of the movie and went to bed...
i can't believe i am going to be working this monday... it still feels unreal... i am officially joining the working class now... and i am turning 24 this year... damn... starting to feel old...
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