so here’s a snapshot of what being an SLP employed by the department of education in melbourne victoria is like:

- technically, you don’t automatically get school holidays off (you have to apply to take those days off and yes you only get 20 vacation days a year);

- you sometimes work out of store rooms, principals’ offices, staff rooms…basically any spare room the schools can find you;

- you have to pay tax on your travel claims;

- you don’t really have a clear idea of a career progression path;

- you don’t get recognized monetarily for studying more;

- you get $300 to attend Professional Development courses;

- you have to pay for your own end of year celebration meals because apparently we don’t need a break or team bonding activities;

- you don’t get your membership with the professional board (Speech Pathology Australia) (about $450 a year) automatically paid for;

- you see kids for therapy at best once a fortnight which really allows you to see lots of progress (NOT).

and here’s what you get for being a teacher:

- almost all of the above catered for.

i’m still trying to understand WHY anyone would want to be a Department employed SLP for more than 2 years. the working conditions are absolutely shocking. not to mention graduate SLPs are paid WAY less than teachers for having similar qualifications (don’t even get me started on the fact that my Masters is not worth anything in this system).

take me back to california.

okay so this post is like a day late. i’ve been too busy with non virtual activities to keep on top of things here. anyway, much to my disappointment, (which i had already anticipated) halloween in australia is DEAD, DEAD, DEAD. pun unintended. we went to a restaurant dressed up in outfits (that weren’t even too outlandish) and realized we were the only ones dressed up for the occasion apart from the servers and a candy dispensing transformer dude (who, by the way, was awesome).

yes, yes, i was super lazy and went with my cowgirl outfit for the second time and promise it will be my LAST TIME doing that. next year i’ll plan ahead and really get a fun or at least different costume going. yes.

despite the lack of halloween spirit in this town (again pun unintended), we still had fun just being out there and representin’. but i miss how ridiculously big it is in the US. i miss having cutely dressed up kids come over trick or treating. hopefully next year we’ll see more people dressed for the occasion.

hope you had all the candy, pumpkin seeds, apple cider, laughs, spooks, and boooze till you’re hurting the next morning.

The koala is easily my favorite animal. The furry noses, the frizzy fur, the odor they emit, their passive personalities, and the way they lay in the trees: too cute!!

A (real) koala sleeping at the Australia Zoo in Brissy!

Finally went to Brighton Beach, home to the famous colorful beach huts. What a pretty sight to see on a lovely day in spring.

The school holidays are here. That means I get to work from home. Also, I took a few days “off” work. We’re going to Sydney this coming weekend to meet Bry’s sister and husband, then follow them to Noosa, and finally end the trip with a couple days in Adelaide where Bry has to be to present a paper. The whole trip in about 6 days.

I’m not setting my alarm for tomorrow morning. That means I get to sleep in till probably just past 7am (vs 6am on a normal school day): how luxurious!

i had one of the worst menstrual cramps ever today. it happened late morning and was so painful i could not walk, stand, or even sit up straight. of course it did not help that my day started with a parent walking out on me in the middle of our meeting, in tears, because she thought i was insinuating she was a bad parent. it also did not help that all morning, i had to run around to look for teachers, students, make phonecalls, try to get students interested in tasks, etc.

it was one of those days.

i decided to leave at 2pm – and return to the school to see the other kids on friday morning. which was wise because i got to go home early,  sit on the couch, fight my cramps, do research on the internet, and blog.

menstrual cramps really get to me every month: they usually attack me in the night and wake me from my sleep. even the maximum dosage of panadol cannot totally quell the pain and i typically go back to bed in tears but fall asleep shortly after out of sheer tiredness. i usually feel better about twelve hours after, much to my relief (and to bry’s sanity). cramps for me is usually the pinnacle in this whole ordeal called pms (pre menstrual symptom).

this topic might be a real turn off, especially to men, but it is real. i did not really want to blog about it before, thinking it is too grotesque. but really, it is not. it’s a condition. a condition that needs to be understood and managed. in fact, apparently, almost 60% of women deal with some form of pms.

my battle with pms is not unknown either to those around me: while i have been able to control my moods slightly better these last few years, my physical symptoms have escalated -  about two days before my period, my heartbeat increases, i have trouble sleeping, my body temperature increases and i tend to break out in sweat in the nights, and i tend to have sudden bursts of energy (which i try to channel to exercise). while i know my pms is not unmanageaeble, i and that i can do something about it, i haven’t. but i think it’s time to really start paying attention and manage it. i’ve scoured websites and will be in the next few months trying out diets that have been suggested to help. foods with higher calcium, magnesium, vitamin B6, for example, have been thought to improve these symptoms.

i’ll try to blog about my selection of foods and their effectiveness. hopefully self remedy will help improve my symptoms. being a women is tough enough normally. i don’t need this extra pain to affect my quality of life (and my family’s!!).

in the meantime, i think i am off to take another dose of panadol that will hopefully help ease the pain.

Yes, haven’t had time to update this blog (or my other one). Working 5.5 days, plus tutoring and attending bible study one night a week, can really be quite tiring sometimes, surprisingly! Anyhow, will try to update more regularly. Last weekend Bry and I went to Torquay, a beach town about 60kms south west of Melbourne, to celebrate our one year anniversary. The place was beautiful, the time spent was wonderful.

We’re officially Australian Permanent Residents! What this means is we are eligible for more benefits: better healthcare,  money if we have kids (tho we might not be eligible for the bulk of the money cos we apparently make too much money – yeah, a high class problem we got on our hands), and a firstime home owner’s grant.

On other news: I want to be certified by ASHA, too, and get my C’s (certificate of clinical competency). Hopefully in 2 years, when we go to the US for Bry’s sabbatical semester…hopefully!!!

Spent the entire day at home mostly eating and napping. I also started a blog on Speech and Language Pathology:

http://speechlanguagetherapy.wordpress.com

There are lots of SLP sites out there but they are mostly American and while mine will probably be quite US centric, I’ll try to shed some light on the things happening in Australia and other parts of the world (like Singapore!). So Speech Therapist or not, do drop by to say hi!

i found a saturday job working @ a nice n well stocked private clinic not too far from where we live. i never thought i’d do early intervention but i think i’m quite open to it now! i also see a couple of kids with autism, which has been awesome.

this last week i’ve been feeling sick. it started with a scratchy throat on tuesday. then the chills on wednesday. when i thought i was getting better on thursday, my nose gave way on fri. and today, after my sat sessions dealing with a couple of the clients who have been sick the last few days, the flu erupted.

i’ll probably have to give church a miss tomorrow. but it’s imperative that i stay home n make sure i’m en route to recovery before starting up another busy week on monday.

anyhow, being sick means i get to spend time in front of my computer. updating my blog, catching up on news, updating my FB status once every other hour, and, most importantly, SHOPPING ONLINE! saw a bag @ banana republic that i REALLY want, and some tops from forever 21 that i would’ve bought if i were in the US of A. oh, i miss shopping in america. ugh.

but, well, i did buy stuff online – two tops from heidiandseek.etsy.com, run by a haley, clothing designer and maker based in melbourne, victoria – i love her OOAK upcycled clothing. and better yet, she has 30% off storewide this weekend only. so go check out her store NOW.

(one of my favorite tops in her store, only going for USD 70 before 30% discount. but too bad the size L aint gonna fit me, a size 0!!)

isn’t he gorgeous? taken at the phillip island wildlife park, a highly recommended place to visit before going to see the penguin parade!