Thursday Friday Saturday

Thursday

Got a lecture on behavior management strategies from a very fun and entertaining professor from LSU. Learned some good tricks I might try to implement with my group on Monday. Following, we were working on decorating the room when we were abruptly stopped. The woman who did so is in charge of inspecting the facility, and seeing as the place did not meet standards, it is her job to improve it. I could say lots about her "unique" management but in the interests of professionalism, I won't say them here. Let's just say she has a vision and is very forceful in achieving it. So, with her guidance, we spent the rest of the day rearranging the entire room and cleaning as necessary. Exhausted, we called it a day and went home. I went to the gym and ate some delicious microwavable food in my room for dinner. Called it a night.

Friday

Arriving at work, we worked on posters and various other decorations. The room is starting to look pretty good for our Zoo theme next week. I think our field trip to the zoo is on Thursday of next week so I'm pretty excited for that. We also got our groups. I have the 7-8 year olds including one little boy who apparently is either the worst kid in the world or the funniest kid in the world depending on how much he likes you. Talking with the staff, it sounds like I have the most difficult group. Should be fun.

I got a ride to the doctor's office today for a check-up. They told me I need to get some blood tests done and directed me to an office where I would sign some forms and pick up some paperwork. I had an interesting interaction with the lady in the office before I left. It went something like this:

(after she gives me long and confusing directions to the nearest blood lab)
Me: I actually live on a military base but I don't have full privileges because I'm not actually in the military. I'll check to see if I can get the tests done on base though.

Nice lady: Oh yes, certainly try that.

Me: Ok, well thank you for your help today.

Nice lady: Of course. And, sir?

Me: Yes?

Nice lady: Thank you for protecting my freedom.

Me: Oh, well, I, um... thank you (nervous laugh) Have a nice day.

As you can see, I looked like a jackass. On the other hand, I didn't wanna make her feel bad by reminding her that I was just some civvy kid wearing short khakis and tucked-in shirts instead of a real American hero. Oh well.

For dinner, the five of us headed to Lil' G's Kajun for dinner. I had the Cajun Shrimp Penne. Of course, it was delicious and there was enough to take home. Dinner itself was a blast and we had a great time sharing stories and whatnot. Afterwards, we all went bowling at the lanes on base. Located in what looks like a trailer, we paid $14 for all five of us to bowl for one hour (shoes included). For those of you out there who suck at math like me, that's about $3 per person to bowl 2 games with shoes included. Total bargain.

Back in the room, I watched Lost, wrote some letters and ate some more of my pasta after draining the butter and grease into the garbage can. Yum.

Saturday

I woke up this morning at 7:30 to watch the US-Australia World Cup warm-up game on ESPN. Running on little sleep, it was tough to stay awake but the team looked pretty good. I'm feeling alright about the US' chances later this month. Game finished 3-1 and I promptly went back to bed. I discovered that if you pull the blinds and shut off all the lights in my room, it will appear to be nighttime all the time. This is why I slept until 2. We have plans to go downtown today. I'll keep you posted.

Other things

I need to find a post office and fast. I've sold something on eBay and there doesn't seem to be anywhere to ship it from. My only day I can go somewhere and ship something is Saturday but the nearest post office is a few miles away off base and is only open until noon. Printing is something else I took for granted. I've got things I need to print but have no idea where to go to do so. There's also the issue of finding the medical center on base.

The good news: the Liberty Center apparently rents out bikes. I'm gonna be all over that. Also, there seems to be a thrift store on base. Seeing as I am, Mr. Goodwill, I'll probably just move there once I find it.

Local thoughts

I have been repping the PNW with my Nutty Narrows Bridge shirt as well as my Mariner's hat. I think I need to add something from the Cowlitz Black Bears to my collection. I think its really cool that Longview now has a semi-pro baseball team.