Glee - Imagine

If you haven't watched Glee before, I certainly recommend tuning in. This is a clip from an old episode, but it still gives me chills when I watch it.

If you are having a bad day, watch this ....

Unbelievable Soccer Throw-in 360 flip in MATCH

Small Things

This week was a good week overall.

1. I got great parking spots, which means that instead of walking the typical 8 blocks to work, I only had to walk 6!
2. While walking to work, I didn't have to stop at any of the stoplights; I had the right of way at each intersection!
3. A patient at clinic came up to me and said, "Honey, you are going into a great field, because when people like me lose their hearing, they feel disconnected from the world. You will be able to do great things for people."
4. At work today, I contacted a mother who was frustrated with doctors, the system and her son's health conditions. I was able to listen and offer her comfort. We had a great conversation and we were both able to figure out the problem, I provided a recommendation and she was relieved to have someone address her concerns.

These great happenings were also useful in temporarily eliminating my thoughts about a 15 page paper I have yet to begin. Well shoot, I just remembered :)

The Past Few Months

Yes ladies and gents, my very first suit! I wore it to a presentation I had at the Nebraska Speech-Language and Hearing Association Conference in Kearney, Nebraska. My presentation on the topic of Wideband Acoustic Transfer Functions, went well and it was a wonderful opportunity for professional growth. 

Gena and I ran a 10k in October. She is a GREAT running partner and I hope to run the Lincoln half marathon with her!

What is Halloween without a little pumpkin carving? He looks even better rotten.

I went to Springfield, MO and volunteered to help with Bass Pro's Outdoor Fitness Festival (since I couldn't participate myself, due to an annoying injury). I also went to cheer on Stephanie and her marvelous work, helping organize the event as an intern! 

I got to see Gracie in her very adult-like pirate costume

And this past weekend I had help from 3 awesome ladies to transfer 935 items and $120 donated to the Food Bank of Lincoln! Way to go Student Academy of Audiology!

Direction

Often, it is easy to become discouraged, for all of us.

Lately, I have been contemplating many of my decisions. Re: School. Politics. Religion. Ethics. Future. Relationships. Expenditures. Guilty Pleasures.
What I have come to realize is that I don't have a simple, involuntary system for controlling my actions or emotions when dealing with these issues. I don't know that I am meant to be an audiologist, or that I rest confidently in one person's interpretation of the scripture. How can one word define my political views? Even worse, what is there to like about politics? Is it right that something unethical isn't illegal and how in the world am I NOT supposed to fear the future? That's like saying there's no need to fret about a possible pop quiz tomorrow in a class you haven't had yet! I know I'm supposed to be the bigger person, but at what point do I become the fool? How do you deal with disliking someone you're supposed to love? Okay, I admit it, I bought a box of nutty bars and haven't worked out in 2.5 weeks. I'm scared to injure myself again from running, but I'm also scared to get fat and die from cellulite suffocation. Finally, if perfection is obsolete then why in the world are we always competing and why am I so often exhausted from trying to portray perfection? I win! I'm the best at imperfection!

I don't know the answers to these internal questions, obviously, but I came across a quote that makes me think that it will all be okay:

Life is so much more than what your eyes are seeing. You will find your way if you keep believing. 

Reflection

I have come to find that the best time to reflect is when doubting the actions of others. Continuously, I perform this act, not in terms of deceit, but for personal growth. I suppose that my background in the helping professions also poses this constant battle of ethical vs unethical and patient centered care. Then, there is the concept of developing and testing a Gold Standard protocol for all test purposes. At this point, I may have lost you, but the point is that there is always a standard method of belief, testing, performance, etc. However, we will always have the gray region where we don't know the right answer, we debate the best moral decision, or there isn't perfect sensitivity/specificity in detection of a pathology. I like to think about the gray area and what my choices of behavior or methodology where and how a different decision may have altered the outcome.

Complainers. This is the current gray area I have been reflecting. Yes, we all know them and we all have been one. In my experience, there are some individuals who thrive on sympathy and always outdo your worst experience. There are the people who just need to vent on occasion and justifiably so. We can't leave out the aggressive complainers that have no mercy and beat you to a bloody pulp with their words of disgust and not an ounce of regret. Then, there are the poor souls who are stricken with the unexpected, extremely detailed, slightly exaggerated "worse thing that ever happened in my whole life" stories. Well, I must admit, I find myself complaining more in graduate school then I have ever. Maybe it's the sleep deprivation or constant anxiety-oops, there I go complaining and making excuses for my complaining in the same sentence. So, I have been looking into the origin of this habit. Do we live in a world that obsesses over imperfection and feels righteous to all opportunities and objects? Is there more pressure than ever to live up to your own expectations, but also the expectations of an unknown audience? What ever the reason may be, there must be a solution to all of the nonsense, constant white noise (audiology term for complainers) distracting me from my everyday life and positive attitude. Many  times I hear someone complaining and I fall right into the black hole of a trap and have to work hard to get myself out!

Well, I looked further into this and found a great quote:

"When you consistently maintain a positive frame of mind, you'll become known as a problem-solver rather than a complainer. People avoid complainers. They seek out problem-solvers."
Joseph Sommerville


This is a bold statement and truthful in its entirety. I shy away from people who complain all the time or after while, I stop listening to what they have to say. Call me a bad listener, but it can be exhausting to keep up with some one's constant cries. At times, it also makes the listener feel worthless and non existent. The worst complaints though are the ones in which pride and selfish matters take control. It is hard to hear why someone deserves special treatment without consideration of the other side, especially when that kind of energy could be put towards something useful. 


So here are some tips for the morbid complainers out there:
1. Don't over do it-no one likes a complainer
2. End on a positive note
3. Don't verbally abuse the person on the other end
4. Think about both sides and seek out more information before making accusations
5. Along with # 4, if you are going to complain, at least have accurate information
6. Choose carefully who you complain to as it could come back and bite you
7. Avoid complaining all together, life will seem more fulfilling and you might have more friends!


"Circumstances do not make the man, they reveal him."