for the spanish exam

for the county job.

i literally had to prove my ability to do therapy in spanish by saying the numbers 4, 7, 9 in spanish. saying the months august, march, september, and october in spanish. saying "good morning," "good afternoon," "hello," and "goodbye," "street," "welcome," "north," "letter," and "please" in spanish. and then telling her how i learned my spanish.

literally rachel mcgovern, who is three and who learned spanish from sesame street and her babysitter, could've passed the test.

apparently good things come in fours

after a 6 month hiatus from dr. appointments, i finally had my first oncology appointment in sf. i had to wait so long because of insurance. kaiser colorado and kaiser california are different entities and don't exactly make it easy for patients to pass back and forth between the two. so i had to be sure that i had insurance lined up in california before transferring my kaiser colorado here as a "visiting member." long story. but 6 months later, i finally got to see an oncologist. and i fell in love.

dr. raymond liu is one of the nicest doctors i have ever met.

he spent an hour and 15 minutes with me. talking about my history. ensuring i understood all the reasons everything had been done up to now. talking me through everything. discussing future plans. he told me he was born in the bronx, raised in NJ, went to harvard, went to uchicago med school. SUCH a NICE person. so patient. made me feel like his priority.

and he set me up with a reconstruction referral, genetics testing referral, and a referral for a mammogram. the plan is to see him in another three to four months to continue to check in and make sure things are fine.

then as i walked out of my appt, i got a callback for an interview for a position as a therapist as part of the san mateo county mental health services. (a bit of a long story...i still plan to start work on sept 2nd at huckleberry youth programs...which is another long story...but this county position is just something good to have as a possibility in the future.)

then i went to have a great dinner with molly, corby, juliet, and gretchen (and georgia and caroline). corby and molly made homemade guacamole, salsa, AND CHIPS. so. so. good.

THEN i got home to an email from my parents' friends who've agreed to dog sit kitty while i'm learning to kayak in northern california for a week! i am so so so relieved. and so happy for kitty. marime and tom LOVE kitty. and i think she's going to have a very fun week in dixon.

what.a.good.day.

my new job? origins marketer

i recently went to the origins store to check out their skin care products. the woman who worked there told me that, due to customer demand, origins has been changing ALL of its products so they no longer include any of the cancer causing ingredients that we're all worried about. since july 2007, they have been phasing out all parabens, propylene glycol, and dea.

in the stores, these changes are more obvious. right on the box, they have the list of all the ingredients that are NOT in their products anymore. but they aren't really doing anything to advertise it on their website. i had to dig through it - eventually finding the information in "about origins" and "product purity."

from their website:
Our products have always been formulated without Phthalates, Petroleum, Paraffin, dyes, mineral oil, the chemical sunscreen PABA and Animal Ingredients (except cruelty-free honey and beeswax.) And Origins tests its products on volunteer panels*.

Recently certain ingredients with previous long histories of safe use in the cosmetic industry have become the focus of attention. In response to consumer desires, Origins initiated a voluntary reformulation program to free our formulas of Parabens, Propylene Glycol and DEA. All existing Origins products have been reformulated and will begin to phase in as they become available through our standard manufacturing process.

Furthermore we use no synthetic fragrances (which are often made from petroleum or its by-products) or synthetic colors in our Skin and Body care products.

your personal pound of chemicals?

i just had the opportunity browse through a 1968 version of newsweek while i was eating breakfast this weekend. this is from an ad for celanese chemicals:

"celanese makes about one pound of chemicals a year for every person on earth. and production is growing faster than the "population explosion,"...not everyone yet enjoys his personal pound of celanese chemicals but, as we open new markets everywhere, we're getting closer."

!!!!!!!!!!!!

A LOT to share!

#1 - i finally got (and accepted) a JOB!!! i will be working through the ymca youth services bureau as a crisis counselor at an alternative high school in san bruno, ca (about 20 minutes from my house). i'm going to sign papers tomorrow and school starts on the 18th! my life of leisure is coming to an end BUT my life of health insurance in california is beginning!!!

#2 - i was accepted into an amazing program for young cancer survivors called first descents. they take cancer survivors on week-long kayaking trips. and i'll be doing one in the northern, northern tip of california on the salmon river in september!! firstdescents.org

#3 - my letter of intent was accepted for this incredible grant program called the SAMFund. they provide young cancer patients with money for all kinds of things...car insurance, health insurance, yoga, physical therapy, rent...so now i just have to write a full proposal by november. thesamfund.org

#4 - and...what else? my friend juliet just had a baby! i have a cousins' double date tonight with my cousin julie, her friend piper, and her cousin spencer. in a few weeks i get to see all my eastman cousins again for ashley's birthday. some denver friends (taylor and jay) will be here this weekend...you might remember them from the haircutting pictures last fall. and i'll get to see my lovely friend riki the weekend after that in sacramento... :)

so...all in all...one year post surgery...things seem to be working themselves back into place...*sigh*